Even people who use fitness apps to record and track their exercise don't meet the minimum recommended amount of weekly exercise, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Using 2014 data from MapMyFitness, one of the most popular fitness-tracking apps with 22 million users (ages 13 and up) in the US, researchers were able to identify the states that spent the most and the least time working out that year.
MapMyFitness users track their physical activity through the app on smartphones or other connected devices. Although the data collected and analyzed through MapMyFitness is self-reported and skewed toward people who have an interest in exercising, the findings reveal patterns on the geographic distribution of fitness in the U.S.
5 findings from the report are listed below.
- California had the most minutes spent exercising per week per user, logging in at 87 minutes, followed by Colorado (84.2 minutes), Washington (82 minutes), Oregon (79.5 minutes) and Arizona (79 minutes).
- The national average was 73.2 minutes of exercise per user per week, less than half of the recommended 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- California also had the most minutes spent walking (35.2 minutes per week per user).
- Massachusetts had the most minutes spent running, with an average of 37.5 minutes per week, which is not surprising considering the state is home to the Boston Marathon, one of the world's most famous races. Utah came in second for running, largely due to the recent boom in popularity of trail running.
- North Dakota came in 50th place in number of workout minutes and minutes spent running, with an average of just 46.3 minutes spent exercising per user per week. Washington, D.C., came in 51st, logging 43.2 minutes of exercise with an average of less than one workout per week.
Note: The data reported here is limited because workouts are logged for the state in which they occur, even if during a vacation. Additionally, the majority of workout data from MapMyFitness comes from logged runs, walks and bike rides. Other types of exercise, including skiing, weightlifting, yoga, treadmill and stationary bike workouts account for about 3 percent of MapMyFitness data in any state. It is also possible app users don't log every single workout.