People who do not exercise enough may have a new explanation in the weather. A new study finds that people in cool, dry climates spend more time exercising than those who live where it is hot and humid.
Using data from a telephone survey conducted by
People who do not exercise enough may have a new explanation in the weather. A new study finds that people in cool, dry climates spend more time exercising than those who live where it is hot and humid.
Using data from a telephone survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, researchers correlated information about exercise with weather reports from 255 weather stations in the United States and Puerto Rico to figure out what percentage of people in each region met the C.D.C. exercise recommendations -- 30 minutes of moderate physical activity 5 to 7 days a week or 20 minutes of vigorous physical activity 3 to 7 days a week.
The study appears in the July-August issue of The American Journal of Health Behavior.
Montana, Utah, Wisconsin, New Hampshire and Vermont were the top five states for percentage of residents meeting the requirements. People in Hawaii, Puerto Rico, North Carolina, Kentucky and Mississippi exercised the least. Counties in the top 25 percent in meeting the recommendations had the highest percentage of days with dry moderate conditions, while those in the bottom 25 percent had the highest percentage of days with moist tropical conditions. Regional differences were substantial.
Dr. Ray M. Merrill, the lead author of the study and an associate professor at Brigham Young University, acknowledged that conditions other than weather might have influenced the results.
"The presence of indoor fitness facilities, exercise equipment, air-conditioning and so on likely does influence the results somewhat," Dr. Merrill said.
But, he added, "The study showed that regardless of our modern indoor fitness facilities, climate still explains a great deal of variation in physical activity."Continue readi