Utah ranked second-most active state in new CDC report

Skiers at Deer Valley Resort stop to watch the FIS World Cup Moguls Finals earlier in January. Photo: TownLift

PARK CITY, Utah — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a report last week that aims to measure physical activity in the United States.

The data is from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), an ongoing state-based, telephone survey conducted by the CDC and state health departments.

In the survey, respondents are asked if, in the past month, they did any physical activity outside of their regular job. People who said “no” were classified as inactive.

Overall, the prevalence of physical inactivity in the U.S. was 25.3%.

Four states — Utah, Colorado,  Washington, and Vermont had a physical inactivity prevalence of 17.7% to less than 20%.

Colorado was first overall in the lowest prevalence of inactivity with 17.7%, Utah was second at 18.2%.

“The overall goal of the initiative is to help 27 million Americans become more physically active by 2027 — to improve overall health and quality of life and to reduce healthcare costs,” the CDC report states.

“Building active and walkable communities may also help support local economies and create more cohesive communities.”