| The Assistant Secretary for Health and Surgeon General
chaired the third and final review of progress in achieving Healthy People 2000 (HP2000)
objectives for Physical Activity and Fitness. The President’s Council on Physical
Fitness and Sports organized the review around the themes of reducing sedentary lifestyles
and increasing the quantity and quality of school physical education. Of the 13 objectives
in this priority area, one has met the targets, three have shown overall progress toward
meeting the targets, five have moved away from the targets, and the rest have shown little
or no change or have insufficient data sources to measure progress. During the overview
and discussion, attention was given to the following HP2000 objectives. The numbers in
boldface indicate the chapter and objective number. 1.1 The age-adjusted death rate from coronary heart disease in
the total population declined from 135 per 100,000 in 1987 to 105 in 1996. The HP2000
target is 100. For Blacks, the rate fell from 168 per 100,000 in 1987 to 140 in 1996. The
target is 115.
1.2 In 1988-94, the age-adjusted
prevalence of overweight or obesity (BMI³25) was 54.9 percent—up from 46 percent in
the 1970s and 43.3 percent in 1960-62. Among men, it increased to 59.4 percent in 1988-94,
and among women, to 50.7 percent. Among Black men and women, the prevalence increased from
43.1 to 56.5 percent and from 57.0 to 65.8 percent, respectively. Prevalence in
adolescents increased from 15 percent in 1976-80 to 24 percent in 1988-94.
1.3 In the past decade, less
than one-quarter of people aged 18 and older engaged in light to moderate physical
activity for at least 30 minutes, 5 or more times per week. Showing little change since
early in the decade. The target is 30 percent.
1.4 In 1991, 16 percent of
people aged 18 and older engaged in vigorous physical activity 3 or more days a week for
at least 20 minutes per occasion. The proportion was unchanged in 1995. The target is 20
percent. The proportion of students in grades 9-12 who did so was the same (64 percent) in
1997 as in 1991. The target is 75 percent.
1.5 The proportion of the total
population aged 18 and older who engage in no leisure-time physical activity remained
fairly stable at around 23-24 percent from 1985 to 1995. The target is 15 percent.
1.6 In 1991, 27 percent of
people aged 18 and older regularly performed stretching exercises. This increased to 32
percent in 1995. The proportion who engaged in regular weight training increased from 11
percent in 1990 to 18 percent in 1995. The HP2000 target is 40 percent for each activity.
Among students in grades 9-12, the proportion who engaged in strengthening routines 4 or
more times per week barely changed from 1991 (37 percent) to 1997 (38 percent). Over this
same period, the proportion of such students who performed stretching exercises 4 or more
times per week decreased from 43 percent to 40 percent. The target is 40 percent in each
category.
1.7 In 1985, 30 percent of
overweight females aged 18 and older and 25 percent of overweight males aged 18 and older
had adopted sound dietary practices combined with regular physical activity to attain an
appropriate body weight. The percentages of females and males combining diet and exercise
to reduce overweight decreased to 19 percent and 15 percent, respectively, in 1995, moving
away from the target of 50 percent. A change in the survey questionnaire in 1991 may have
affected the tracking of this objective.
1.8 The proportion of
adolescents in grades 9-12 who participate in daily school physical education decreased
from 42 percent in 1991 to 27 percent in 1997. The target is 50 percent.
1.9 In 1991, 37 percent of
students in grades 9-12 spent 21 minutes or more, 3-5 times per week being physically
active during school physical education (P.E.) class time and 24 percent spent 30 minutes
or more, 1 or more times per week. In 1997, these proportions decreased to 32 percent and
21 percent, respectively. The target is for students to spend 50 percent of P.E. class
time being physically active.
1.10 Between 1985 and 1992, the
proportion of worksites offering employer-sponsored physical activity and fitness programs
increased in all categories of worksite size: for those with 50-99 employees, from 14
percent to 33 percent (HP2000 target, 20 percent); for those with 100-249 employees, from
23 percent to 47 percent (target, 35 percent); for those with 250-749 employees, from 32
percent to 66 percent (target, 50 percent); for those with 750 or more employees, from 54
percent to 83 percent (target, 80 percent).
1.13 The proportion of older
people who have difficulty performing self-care activities increased between 1984-85 and
1994-95. For the total population aged 70 and older, the increase was from 141 per 1,000
to 163 (HP2000 target, 90 per 1,000); for the total population aged 85 and older, from 371
per 1,000 to 471 (target, 325 per 1,000); and for Blacks aged 70 and older, from 166 per
1,000 to 218 (target, 98 per 1,000).
HIGHLIGHTS
- As part of the 1999 International Year of the Older Person
campaign, former Senator and recent astronaut John Glenn is encouraging older people to
exercise to the best of their ability.
- Currently, no State mandates daily physical education in
schools.
- Obesity and low levels of physical fitness account for a
large percentage of recruits failing to complete military basic training. To address this
problem, the Department of Defense’s Operation Be Fit, a 5-year program begun in
1997, aims to raise fitness levels of military personnel, their family members, and their
communities. Participants perform one or more of 69 physical activities at least 3 times
per week to develop healthy, fit and active lifestyles.
- Studies have shown that a strategy focused on reducing
inactivity, as in the amount of time spent watching television, is more successful in
decreasing obesity and maintaining weight loss than one which emphasizes increasing
activity.
- In the Walking School Bus program in Canada, senior citizens
alight from the buses about a mile from the schools and escort the school children on foot
the rest of the way to class.
- The Girl Power program is successfully reaching girls before
they turn 13 and giving them the opportunity to engage in physical activities, such as
dancing.
- According to data from the Health Care Financing
Administration, 70 percent of corporate pre-tax profits is spent on health care.
- Supported by the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association
and the International Health Racquet Sports Association, the President’s Council on
Physical Fitness and Sports has received $38 million of donated media since 1996.
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