Walking may not be enough
- A Boston Globe-cited study found people who mostly walk rank second-to-last for combined aerobic and strength activity. (bostonglobe.com) - Walkers placed above only the lawn-and-gardening group on the combined aerobic-plus-muscle-strengthening metric. (bostonglobe.com) - The study shows walking often lacks the muscle-strengthening component required by U.S. activity guidelines. (bostonglobe.com)
Walking is the exercise most Americans say they do most, but a new April 1 study found only about 1 in 4 walkers met the full federal target for both cardio and strength work. (journals.plos.org) The study, led by Christiaan G. Abildso of West Virginia University, analyzed 2019 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data from 396,261 U.S. adults and found walking was the top leisure-time activity for 44.1% of respondents. (journals.plos.org) Among adults who said walking was their main activity, roughly 25% met the combined Physical Activity Guidelines and about 22% met neither the aerobic nor the muscle-strengthening target. (journals.plos.org) Those guidelines are a two-part test: adults should get 150 to 300 minutes a week of moderate aerobic activity, such as brisk walking, and do muscle-strengthening work at least two days a week. (cdc.gov) That split helps explain the study’s result. Walking can cover the cardio half, but many walkers do not report the separate strength sessions needed to count as meeting both benchmarks. (cdc.gov; journals.plos.org) The paper also found a place gap. Non-metropolitan adults were less likely than metropolitan adults to meet the minimum aerobic, muscle-strengthening, and combined guidelines, and were more likely to be inactive. (journals.plos.org) Researchers said activity preferences differed by where people live: rural adults more often reported lawn and garden work, hunting and fishing, farm and ranch work, and household activity, while urban adults more often reported running, weightlifting, bicycling, dance, and walking. (journals.plos.org) Federal health officials have warned for years that most adults miss the full two-part standard. The current guidelines say nearly 80% of U.S. adults are not meeting both aerobic and muscle-strengthening recommendations. (cdc.gov) A separate PLOS One analysis published in January 2025 found aerobic guideline adherence stayed near 50% from 2011 through 2019, which means the strength half remains a major reason many adults fall short of the combined mark. (journals.plos.org) The new study does not say walking is ineffective. It says the most common activity in the country often is not, by itself, enough to satisfy the full U.S. definition of being physically active. (journals.plos.org; cdc.gov)
