Adults With Recommended Physical Activity by County, New Mexico, 2015, 2017, 2019
Indicator Report Data View Options
Why Is This Important?
Physical activity among adults has numerous benefits, including: reducing risk of heart disease, stroke, and some cancers; improving physical fitness, bone health, and mental health; preventing high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol, prediabetes and diabetes; maintaining a healthy weight, and increasing mobility; brain health benefits, including improved cognitive function, reduced anxiety and depression risk, and improved sleep and quality of life. Among older adults, physical activity is crucial in preventing falls (1). Only half of adults in the U.S. meet physical activity recommendations (1). Research demonstrates any amount of physical activity is beneficial; however, for substantial health benefits, the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd edition recommends adults do 150 to 300 minutes a week of moderate-intensity physical activity, or 75 to 150 minutes a week of vigorous-intensity physical activity (2). Preferably, aerobic activity should be spread throughout the week. Adults should also do muscle-strengthening activities of moderate or greater intensity that involve all major muscle groups on 2 or more days a week, as these activities provide additional health benefits (2).
Adults With Recommended Physical Activity by County, New Mexico, 2015, 2017, 2019
Definition
Among adults, the proportion who meet aerobic physical activity recommendations of at least 150 minutes/week of moderate intensity, or 75 minutes/week of vigorous intensity, or an equivalent combination. The physical activity questions are administered only in odd years.
Data Notes
U.S. value is the median of all U.S. states and D.C. for 2019. The county-level BRFSS data used for this indicator report were weighted to be representative of the New Mexico Health Region populations. Had the data been weighted to be representative of each county population, the results would likely have been different.Data Sources
- Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey Data, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, together with New Mexico Department of Health, Injury and Behavioral Epidemiology Bureau.
(https://www.nmhealth.org/about/erd/ibeb/brfss/) - U.S. data source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) Prevalence and Trends Data.
(https://www.cdc.gov/brfss/brfssprevalence)
How the Measure is Calculated
| Numerator: | Number of adults meeting physical activity recommendations from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System |
| Denominator: | Number of adults from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System |
Data Issues
The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is an ongoing survey of adults about health-related behaviors, health conditions, and preventive services. Data are collected in all 50 states, D.C., and U.S. territories. The survey is conducted using scientific telephone survey methods for landline and cellular phones (with cellular since 2011). The landline phone portion of the survey excludes adults living in group quarters such as college dormitories, nursing homes, military barracks, and prisons. The cellular phone portion of the survey includes adult students living in college dormitories but excludes other group quarters. Beginning with 2011, the BRFSS updated its surveillance methods by adding in calls to cell phones and changing its weighting methods. These changes improve BRFSS' ability to take into account the increasing proportion of U.S. adults using only cellular telephones. Because of these changes, the data from years prior to 2011 are not directly comparable to data from 2011 and later. Please see the [[a href="/nmibis-view/docs/Query/BRFSS/BRFSS_fact_sheet_Aug2012.pdf BRFSS Method Change Factsheet]]. Responses have been weighted to reflect the New Mexico adult population by age, sex, ethnicity, geographic region, marital status, education level, home ownership and type of phone. The "missing" and "don't know" responses are not included when calculating a percentage.Health Topic Pages Related to: Physical Activity - Adult Prevalence
Community Health Resources and Links
- Healthy People 2030 Website
- The Guide to Community Preventive Services
- U.S. Preventive Services Task Force
- County Health Rankings
- Kaiser Family Foundation's StateHealthFacts
Medical literature can be queried at the PubMed website.