You Definitely Have Time to Work Out if You Just Put Down Your Phone

Wow, I don’t know about you but I’m feeling attacked right now. A new study from the journal of Preventing Chronic Disease says that people do in fact have time for exercise if they simply step away from their screens. The study analyzed information from more than 32,000 Americans who took part in the American Time Use Survey. The survey gathers information from people ages 15 and up who record their activities over a 24-hour period. The average american reported having more than 5 hours of free time per day. It’s not too surprising that most of this time recorded was spent watching tv or using electronic devices, such as smartphones or computers.  Men spent just 6.6% of their free time engaging in physical activity, and women spent just 5% of their free time doing physical activity.

Source: filadendron / Getty

“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,” said Dr. Deborah Cohen, co-author of the study and a physician researcher at RAND, a nonprofit research organization. “But we found no evidence for those beliefs

“These findings suggest getting Americans to devote at least 20 or 30 minutes each day to physical activity is feasible,” Cohen said.