Breaking barriers to increased physical activity

Abstract

Physical activity has been identified as one of the leading health indicators, and inactivity is among the major public health concerns in the United States. As such, increasing physical activity becomes an important building block for promoting public health and is a prominent part of the Healthy People 2010 report. Currently, 60% of all Americans do not participate in regular physical activity, and 25% of Americans report being completely inactive ((1)). One way to address this problem is to identify and address existing barriers to exercise.