Lexington, Ky., Deemed America's Most Sedentary City
"Thoroughbred Capital of the World," no more--Lexington, Ky., has a new title: the most sedentary city in the United States. That's according to Men's Health magazine, which has ranked the 100 most- and least-active cities in the country. Trailing Lexington as the most exercise-averse were: Indianapolis, Ind., Jackson, Miss., and Charleston, W. Va. "What hurt Lexington most was the actual amount of activity, or exercise, people reported engaging in--any physical activity at all, which was relatively low. And they did have higher [death rates] from deep vein thrombosis (DVT) as well," Matt Marion, deputy editor of Men's Health, told Reuters. The rankings, released Tuesday in a report called "Where Sit Happens," are based on how often city residents exercise, the number of households that watch at least 15 hours of cable television a week and buy more than 11 video games a year, and DVT rates. (The condition, often caused by inactivity, describes when a blood clot forms in a deep vein, typically in the leg.) Who came out on top? Seattle, San Francisco, and Oakland, Calif., in that order. A common thread linking those cities, according to Marion, is that their residents tend to be more body conscious than people elsewhere. "I think that equates to people making it a priority, no matter how busy, to get a run in or go for a walk," he said.
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Don't Just Diet--Exercise to Lose Weight, Too
What you eat is only one part of the weight-loss equation. Diet alone may help you drop pounds, but you'll have trouble keeping them off if you don't exercise. And that's not to mention the added benefits you'll miss out on, from improved mood, to better sleep, to disease prevention. "The exercise has to be there," says Jim White, a registered dietitian and personal trainer certified by the American College of Sports Medicine.
Most experts recommend at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise, such as brisk walking, most or all days of the week. Typically, 30 minutes a day offers disease-prevention benefits, while 60 minutes helps with weight maintenance. Working out for 90 minutes a day helps on both fronts--and melts additional pounds. Regular exercise also cuts the risk of heart disease and diabetes, improves blood pressure and cholesterol levels, promotes better sleep, and builds healthy bones, muscles, and joints.
Some diets offer specific exercise routines--Jenny Craig members get programs tailored to their individual fitness level, for example--while other diets do no more than recommend it. If that's the case, remember that exercise need not be drudgery. Take a Zumba dance class, go hiking, jump rope, or bounce on a trampoline. Try kayaking, pilates, or swimming; vigorous household chores and yard work count, too. For the best conditioning, switch up your routine every 12 weeks, including frequency, intensity, and type. And avoid an all-or-nothing mentality: It's better to take a 30-minute walk five times a week than to run half a marathon on just one day. [Read more: Don't Just Diet--Exercise to Lose Weight, Too.]
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Work Out Now, Weigh Less in Middle Age
Everybody knows the importance of exercise in keeping weight down. What's more surprising is that physical activity in the present may prevent weight gain many years into the future, according to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Researchers who followed 3,554 people over two decades found that men who stayed highly active gained six pounds less on average after 20 years than their low-activity counterparts did. For women, the difference was a whopping 13 pounds. Waistlines were trimmer for both sexes in the high-activity groups as well. Those studied began as 18- to 30-year-olds. Their 38- to 50-year-old selves showed that consistent commitment to physical activity may mean fewer pounds tacked on during the years notoriously threatened by jiggly bellies.
Highly active, moreover, doesn't necessarily mean marathoning or pumping iron for an hour, U.S. News's Kurtis Hiatt reported in December. While the study used a complex formula that assigned scores according to how long, how often, and how intense the participants' activities were, highly active was equivalent to spending roughly 2½ hours a week getting your heart pumping, like in a sport, brisk walking, or even gardening, says Arlene Hankinson, lead author of the study and an instructor in the department of preventative medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. [Read more: Work Out Now, Weigh Less in Middle Age.]
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