Overview
- The PLOS One analysis, published Wednesday, used 2019 CDC BRFSS data from 396,261 adults and found walking was the top pastime at 44.1 percent.
- Activity choices split by place, with rural adults favoring gardening, hunting, fishing, and farm work, and urban adults more often running, lifting weights, cycling, and dancing.
- Rural residents were less likely to reach aerobic, muscle‑strengthening, and combined targets and were more likely to report no activity.
- Among people who walk the most, about one in four met both targets and about one in five met neither, showing that walking alone often falls short.
- Guidelines call for 150 minutes a week of moderate aerobic activity plus strength work on two days, and experts recommend adding resistance moves or higher‑intensity options and expanding local facilities like rail‑trails, park spaces, and open school gyms.