Lack of Time is a Lousy Excuse for Not Exercising
Most of us have the time, we just choose to spend it on, guess what…
You’ve heard it before, probably said it yourself: “I don’t have time to exercise!” That’s hooey, a new study reveals. Researchers reviewed data from an ongoing survey of 32,000 Americans 15 and older and found the average person has 5 hours of free time daily. But they choose not to carve out 20 minutes a day to meet the minimum federal guidelines for physical activity, which can be as simple as a walk in the park.
“There is a general perception among the public and even public health professionals that a lack of leisure time is a major reason that Americans do not get enough physical activity,” says Deborah Cohen, a physician and researcher at the RAND organization. “But we found no evidence for those beliefs.”
The 5 hours of free time revealed in the study seems to be truly free time, since the researchers excluded from that number activities like shopping, cooking and common household chores, personal grooming, playing with kids and taking care of others. Included in leisure time were things like entertainment, recreational and religious activities, travel, socializing and volunteering.
The largest single time sink, by far, was (no drum roll needed…) screen time —…
