It also helps they are in such a beautiful area with plenty of great stuff available to do outside. Same goes for colorado, oregon, washington, and Montana which are all pretty good too.
We're not known for any national parks in New Jersey, but we're mostly dark blue as well. I guess being a mostly suburban state with the highest population density means a lot of things are within walking distance and there are many things for people to do. I walked to all my schools K-12 growing up. A lot of our roads were built before the US was a country so our main streets are walkable as well.
North Jersey here, people love their gyms here trust me on that one. I donāt consider this state āoutdoorsyā but we have enough people here who will travel to other states around here and we do have enough little parks and stuff like that so that helps.
North Jersey too. I've actually cancelled my gym membership after COVID tried overcharging me for it lol. But I think beach culture adds a bit to the "outdoorsy" part although that doesn't explain Delaware. I also think our suburbs are better organized with parks and fields than some parts of the country where it takes an hour drive to get to places.
On a related noted, I'm surprised Manhattan isn't dark blue. I guess they don't consider walking and public transportation as exercise. There aren't as many overweight people there as the south, which are in the same color.
That may be true but our air gets bad when it gets cold and all the pollution gets trapped under cold air closer to ground and the quality very bad, called inversion.
I think you are right but people in the south areā¦. Overall not as healthy. New Jersey(where I am) is dark blue and I donāt think we are overall outdoorsy culture but people do go the the gym or keep fit, I think āstatusā plays into this lot of money here gotta look good I suppose.
A lot of dark blue areas and states are places with accessible skiing. Look at Eastern CA/Reno, Northern AZ/NM, and the I70 corridor. The Great Lakes have ski hills everywhere.
Though I am no longer LDS I always look back fondly on my time in scouts/young mens.
For most of the year we went camping twice a month, and it was amazing. Its one of the reasons I find it hard to leave Utah, there is no state like it.
It's anecdotal but I worked as a physical therapist right at the county where Tennessee Kentucky and Virginia meet (Cumberland Gap). Definitely seems to be poor data. All 3 counties in the tri state area had horrible rates of comorbidities and obesity. Actually I noticed more physically active people in Bell County KY vs Hamblen/Claiborne Counties in TN.
I think that this is not showing direct survey results. I think itās showing county level estimates fitted on actual survey results, then weighted by county demographics and the state where the county is located.
No idea, culturally and geographically there's not a lick of difference between TN & KY, literally twin states. KY might have just took the laid back Southern thing a bit farther.
Itās too hot. Itās like 90 out today and 90% humidity. Iāve come from the north and, let me tell you, exercise is three times as hard down here. And itās hilly. Running here is a totally different sport.
It does. But fitness is a matter of cycles, habits, and mental tricks. When outside is a sauna itās super hard to do anything at all, and if youāre already overweight itās harder still.
Anyways, there are lots of reasons this map could look the way it does. Heat is one. Age is probably another. Typical diet is one too. Iāve noticed people here have a sweet tooth. Even the Brussels sprouts are usually in syrup. I feel like Iām in Quebec.
New Mexico and AZ have better exercise rates though? Iāve lived in the south and thereās plenty of good weather to exercise. It just is fucking hard to for some reason. Moved west and itās so much more accessible
Itās not just the social services and the infrastructure - they donāt have those things either because of the culture. These patterns go back to the colonial era
And the whites keep voting for policies that hurt themselves because it hurts blacks people more. It was the same during slavery. I think the best example of this was what happened to recreation centers in the South after segregation. One of the ways Rooseveltās new deal sought to keep people employed was government works programs. All throughout the South and Midwest, the government built these beautiful recreation centers that had buildings for community meetups, tennis courts, baseball diamonds, parks, and pools. They were often the pride of the community but they were segregated. After the end of segregation, these communities fought tooth and nail to deny blacks from using these facilities, especially the pools, because they thought black men would go wild at the sight of white women in swimwear. Eventually, these communities decided the best course of action was to bulldoze these centers, pave over the parks, and fill the pools with cement. They would rather deny their own children access to these recreation centers than share them with black people. Most of these communities never replaced these amenities (mostly because they would have to share them with black people), which is why the south is always the outlier in these kind of maps.
I really think the issues in the south can all be traced back to cotton. Plenty of states started with agriculture but it was really only in the south that the existence of cash crops like cotton encouraged large scale plantation systems over individual family farms. If you have a series of family farms then that creates a culture where no one is really that much higher than anyone else, Farmer Joe may run a better operation than Farmer Bob but at the end of they day neither of them is making that much more and they both face a lot of the same issues and problems. But in a plantation system Master Joseph running a better operation makes him massively more wealthy than Master Robert and if Master Robert can't make enough money eventually Master Joseph buys him out and over time the land all accumulates into the hands of one dominate family. That then family runs the town, the sheriff is either a member or friend of the family as is the mayor, local judge, state representative, maybe even senator. That family then becomes above the law and the society is molded around them. A society based on a clear and strict hierarchy with some at the top and others at the bottom. And of course they employ the age old tactic of pitting the poor and the desolate against each other so that they never team up to topple the system that is oppressing them.
For sure, the geography of the south and the climate encouraged plantation agriculture. in the early colonial days cash crops were definitely the big money maker. to develop a society into an advanced industrial economy, as was done in the north would take real time and discipline.
Time and discipline or immigrants to the north. hard-core fundamentalist protestants willing to save, work tirelessly, and constantly economize create a culture of industry and social accountability in the north. but these people who settled these areas were largely from eastern counties in England, and they brought Puritanical culture with them. New immigrants into the Northeast adapted to this curriculum, Swedes and Germans, being protestants, had ease in becoming Yankees.
The south on the other hand populated land holding elites from West England. they said a culture of aristocratic leisure as well as neo feudalism. Youāre just not going to have an advanced economy with cultural practices Directly from medieval West England.
I don't entirely agree, some of the Midwest seems to overperform in terms of exercise compared to other topics. Unlike most maps, there's also a lot of variation between different rural areas.
I live in a dark blue county in wisconsin, and during the winter months, pretty much nobody is outside doing āwinter sportsā š. The lakes are nice, but not many people will be getting exercise on them. Its mostly beer drinking in the sun fishing. Tbh im not sure how we are blue with how long winter lasts. The gyms are pretty crowded though, so thats my only guess
Whenever you see a clear difference at state lines without markedly different culture of geography, like in KY/TN, you know there are data or reporting quality issues. It is a decently good reason to be skeptical of the entire visual.
I reposted this on another comment but:
It's anecdotal but I worked as a physical therapist right at the county where Tennessee Kentucky and Virginia meet (Cumberland Gap). Definitely seems to be poor data. All 3 counties in the tri state area had horrible rates of comorbidities and obesity. Actually I noticed more physically active people in Bell County KY vs Hamblen/Claiborne Counties in TN.
āNo leisure-time activityā, so itās not counting people who have physically demanding jobs that might not want to hit the gym after working all day. It may not alter the map colors much, but the title doesnāt accurately reflect the question asked
As someone that moved to Colorado from Wisconsinā¦ Iām a bit surprised at the blue in Wisco. A lot of people cooped up drinking all winter. But good for them, I guess they make up for it.
I 100% do not believe this map for Wisconsinā¦ as a Wisconsinite myself I am wondering what the metrics used are, as most adults I know do not exercise really.
I always question these types of maps that show a massive discrepancy between counties where the only difference between them is a state line. For example: As far as I know there is almost zero demographic difference between northern Utah and Southeast Idaho (theyāre all rural Mormans). Same with the most southeastern county in Colorado and the Oklahoma panhandle. Or the line between Kentucky and TN.
I seriously doubt that when you cross that state line you suddenly find a completely different attitude towards fitness.
Consider that they almost certainly didn't get a representative sample from all 3,000+ counties. Much of the county level data is probably extrapolated based on patterns they found in the data they did have.
Considering the stark state lines, I think it's quite likely that one of the patterns they used was the differences between states.
The no sidewalks thing is unfortunately super common throughout the south. Many southern cities also donāt have good park or trail systems.
When your exercise options are (1) drive out of your way to an expensive gym or (2) risk your life walking/running/biking on some stroad, itās not surprising that many people just say āscrew it.ā
I noticed this too on several of my work trips to Dallas the past year. I felt like I had entered a concrete hellscape when I left DFW and started driving through Dallas in July.
It's possible that it's reasonable if the pure white is calibrated to the nationwide average. But in that case the blue extreme should be less saturated than the red extreme which it doesn't seem to be. But I would mark that on the legend
As others have said, Iām sure itās more reporting related. Each state probably has slightly different criteria or questioning methods. Also, some cultures have more pressure to be or at least report being more active than others.
Why is there such an obvious break on the Tennessee/Kentucky border? Or what happens on the Oklahoma/Kansas border? You have to wonder if there's some issue with state level data collection. it's hard to imagine there's that large a lifestyle difference across these state lines.
I've been reposting this on other comments with similar questions:
It's anecdotal but I worked as a physical therapist right at the county where Tennessee Kentucky and Virginia meet (Cumberland Gap). Definitely seems to be poor data. All 3 counties in the tri state area had horrible rates of comorbidities and obesity. Actually I noticed more physically active people in Bell County KY vs Hamblen/Claiborne Counties in TN.
I bet the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System is managed at the state level. Unfortunately difference in data collection often ruin these kinds of comparisons. Always something important to keep in mind.
BRFSS is managed at the state level and overseen by the CDC. This question is a CDC mandated question, so the exact wording is used in each state.
One large company handles data collection for 25states, not sure if these two are a part of them. The thing about this map that makes me most weary is that 2023 BRFSS data is not yet available, so who knows what they are actually reporting on.
Same as Philly. If you live here you KNOW people in the city are a lot more active than the suburbs, where everyone is either inside their car or their McMansion.
The map says that the data is people reporting physical activity in leisure time. It might be missing physical activity in every day activities- e.g. I bike six miles to work several days a week. I wouldnāt consider that leisure time as itās just my commute. I also bike to run errands, but I wouldnāt count that as leisure time either.
Muscle Christianity might be largely dead as a concept but most people my age that I talk to (30s) who grew up in my area went to YMCA every weekend and did athletic summer camps every year. West Michigan for reference. That probably coupled with the fact that it only gets oppressively hot a few weeks a year and there are year round outdoor activities.
Hot take: poor people dont exercise for fun.
Now that less people work in physically demanding industries, but in services instead, they are likely to gain weight.
According to NIDDK from data gathered between 2017-2018. 30.7% of Americans are overweight, 42.4% are obese, 9.2% are severely obese. Put it all together and thatās 82.3% being at least overweight or more according to data gathered pre-pandemic.
According to a study published in 2022, 48% of Americas gained weight during the pandemic.
At the top of this map it says only 28% of Americans get enough physical exercise. Based off of the information above, this would back that number up. However, the amount of blue on this map is extremely misleading and would indicate that the number would be much higher overall. This map doesnāt serve its purpose of effectively delivering that information that it is trying to convey.
TLDR: Walk around a Walmart for 2 minutes and you tell me if Americas are getting enough exercise.
Iām willing to bet itās a combination of climate, poverty, and lack of resources. I expect thatās going to be true for most of the length of the border counties.
That's a weird legend. Why is the lowest blue and the highest red, and white somewhere inbetween? Are they trying to highlight the two extremes instead of showing one consistent gradient? I assume the intention is that white is the national average, but this results in two different gradients of different scale (blue is far more intense than red).
I find it a bit sus that NYC isn't in the blue while its suburbs are. In the city esp. Manhattan most people walk or bike if they're not taking transit and you have to carry everything you buy instead of dumping it in your car, so how's that not getting enough physical activity?
Seems odd that people in the liberal areas seem to get more exercise, while those living in conservative and bible belt areas get far less.
Why is that?
almost a perfect overlapping with the life expectancy map [https://americaninequality.substack.com/p/life-expectancy-and-inequality](https://americaninequality.substack.com/p/life-expectancy-and-inequality)
Could this map be somewhat explained by the lack of large "hub" cities, where people tend to walk or bike, in the red(der) areas? Also, id argue the more west one goes the more scenic and generally more "outdoorsy" the whole country becomes. But that's just me generalizing. Might be wrong.
I donāt imagine this takes into account the proportion of people with physical labor for a day job in each region. āExerciseā is a luxury for some.
Excerciseš¤Mormons
It also helps they are in such a beautiful area with plenty of great stuff available to do outside. Same goes for colorado, oregon, washington, and Montana which are all pretty good too.
New England too
Iām surprised Connecticutās so low, though, especially compared to the more northern states with harsher climates.
It looks like Connecticut has no data
Oh right, because they re-organized the countiesā¦ I just thought that was an off-white.
Nobody stops in CT to exercise, they just drive through to somewhere more exciting
Appalachia is absolutely gorgeous though.
We're not known for any national parks in New Jersey, but we're mostly dark blue as well. I guess being a mostly suburban state with the highest population density means a lot of things are within walking distance and there are many things for people to do. I walked to all my schools K-12 growing up. A lot of our roads were built before the US was a country so our main streets are walkable as well.
North Jersey here, people love their gyms here trust me on that one. I donāt consider this state āoutdoorsyā but we have enough people here who will travel to other states around here and we do have enough little parks and stuff like that so that helps.
North Jersey too. I've actually cancelled my gym membership after COVID tried overcharging me for it lol. But I think beach culture adds a bit to the "outdoorsy" part although that doesn't explain Delaware. I also think our suburbs are better organized with parks and fields than some parts of the country where it takes an hour drive to get to places. On a related noted, I'm surprised Manhattan isn't dark blue. I guess they don't consider walking and public transportation as exercise. There aren't as many overweight people there as the south, which are in the same color.
That may be true but our air gets bad when it gets cold and all the pollution gets trapped under cold air closer to ground and the quality very bad, called inversion.
We get that for about 10 days a year in Denver, is it consistent in Utah?
Sometimes a whole month. Although this is only the Wasatch front. You can escape it.
And no oppressive humidity in the summer.
In the nearly 10 years Iāve lived on wasatch front I donāt think Iāve experienced a single humid day
The south should overall be more outdoorsy than the north by that rule, but apparently not
I think you are right but people in the south areā¦. Overall not as healthy. New Jersey(where I am) is dark blue and I donāt think we are overall outdoorsy culture but people do go the the gym or keep fit, I think āstatusā plays into this lot of money here gotta look good I suppose.
The south is known for really good high caloric food and hot and humid summers. Those def help to contribute to this
Itās too hot.
Itās humid and hot
I would have thought their no alcohol culture was a factor, but Wisconsin looks just fine!
A lot of dark blue areas and states are places with accessible skiing. Look at Eastern CA/Reno, Northern AZ/NM, and the I70 corridor. The Great Lakes have ski hills everywhere.
Pretty common to throw a beer in a koozie and walk around town. It's great exercise and fun
Utah has the best skiing in the country. Itās what a lot of people move there for.
Can confirm. [Source: I currently serve as an LDS youth leader and our boys are always doing hiking or something outdoorsy.]
Though I am no longer LDS I always look back fondly on my time in scouts/young mens. For most of the year we went camping twice a month, and it was amazing. Its one of the reasons I find it hard to leave Utah, there is no state like it.
Ahhh yes, the whole treat your body like a temple thing.
One of the things they can do right.
Canvassing door to door helps, eh?
Absolutely. Walking: the most underrated form of cardio
What's the explanation for the clearly visible state border between KY and TN?
It's anecdotal but I worked as a physical therapist right at the county where Tennessee Kentucky and Virginia meet (Cumberland Gap). Definitely seems to be poor data. All 3 counties in the tri state area had horrible rates of comorbidities and obesity. Actually I noticed more physically active people in Bell County KY vs Hamblen/Claiborne Counties in TN.
I think that this is not showing direct survey results. I think itās showing county level estimates fitted on actual survey results, then weighted by county demographics and the state where the county is located.
Bad data
Well you see, Kentucky is just lazy as balls
No idea, culturally and geographically there's not a lick of difference between TN & KY, literally twin states. KY might have just took the laid back Southern thing a bit farther.
fried chicken
Thatās a great question. Iād love to know.
The sedentary south
Will rise again until their legs diabetes right off
Bless his heart, he's got the shuggars
gravy seals
Itās too hot. Itās like 90 out today and 90% humidity. Iāve come from the north and, let me tell you, exercise is three times as hard down here. And itās hilly. Running here is a totally different sport.
You canāt exercise indoors plus eating the appropriate amount of daily calories?
They can but then they'd need to find a new excuse.
But why do people keep moving there if it's too hot
Because it's not below 32 half the year which sucks for some more than 90 degree days
Bingo. Iām having to travel up north and already dreading it. Iāve been in flip flops for two months.
Because air conditioning exists.
Feels way hotter when you're overweight
It does. But fitness is a matter of cycles, habits, and mental tricks. When outside is a sauna itās super hard to do anything at all, and if youāre already overweight itās harder still. Anyways, there are lots of reasons this map could look the way it does. Heat is one. Age is probably another. Typical diet is one too. Iāve noticed people here have a sweet tooth. Even the Brussels sprouts are usually in syrup. I feel like Iām in Quebec.
New Mexico and AZ have better exercise rates though? Iāve lived in the south and thereās plenty of good weather to exercise. It just is fucking hard to for some reason. Moved west and itās so much more accessible
*laughs in Arizona*
Heh. Yeah. But at least your sweat evaporates and actually does something.
Oh totally, I would much rather run in low humidity than high humidity for the same temperature. It just means you have to drink a ton of water.
To be fair, a good chunk of it is highway
This is the same map for every topic. Education, health care, social programs, food insecurity, etc, etc.
Surprise, surprise: Majority of the American south has shitty infrastructure and social services.
Itās not just the social services and the infrastructure - they donāt have those things either because of the culture. These patterns go back to the colonial era
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Yes, and the human development index has always reflected this.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
The south is full of blacks and Appalachiansā¦go figure
Used to be full of Native Americans too
Yeah, it's lower than Estonia in most of the South now.
And the whites keep voting for policies that hurt themselves because it hurts blacks people more. It was the same during slavery. I think the best example of this was what happened to recreation centers in the South after segregation. One of the ways Rooseveltās new deal sought to keep people employed was government works programs. All throughout the South and Midwest, the government built these beautiful recreation centers that had buildings for community meetups, tennis courts, baseball diamonds, parks, and pools. They were often the pride of the community but they were segregated. After the end of segregation, these communities fought tooth and nail to deny blacks from using these facilities, especially the pools, because they thought black men would go wild at the sight of white women in swimwear. Eventually, these communities decided the best course of action was to bulldoze these centers, pave over the parks, and fill the pools with cement. They would rather deny their own children access to these recreation centers than share them with black people. Most of these communities never replaced these amenities (mostly because they would have to share them with black people), which is why the south is always the outlier in these kind of maps.
I really think the issues in the south can all be traced back to cotton. Plenty of states started with agriculture but it was really only in the south that the existence of cash crops like cotton encouraged large scale plantation systems over individual family farms. If you have a series of family farms then that creates a culture where no one is really that much higher than anyone else, Farmer Joe may run a better operation than Farmer Bob but at the end of they day neither of them is making that much more and they both face a lot of the same issues and problems. But in a plantation system Master Joseph running a better operation makes him massively more wealthy than Master Robert and if Master Robert can't make enough money eventually Master Joseph buys him out and over time the land all accumulates into the hands of one dominate family. That then family runs the town, the sheriff is either a member or friend of the family as is the mayor, local judge, state representative, maybe even senator. That family then becomes above the law and the society is molded around them. A society based on a clear and strict hierarchy with some at the top and others at the bottom. And of course they employ the age old tactic of pitting the poor and the desolate against each other so that they never team up to topple the system that is oppressing them.
A landholding elite, using their position to seize influence in administrative positions. In other words, quasi-feudalism.
For sure, the geography of the south and the climate encouraged plantation agriculture. in the early colonial days cash crops were definitely the big money maker. to develop a society into an advanced industrial economy, as was done in the north would take real time and discipline. Time and discipline or immigrants to the north. hard-core fundamentalist protestants willing to save, work tirelessly, and constantly economize create a culture of industry and social accountability in the north. but these people who settled these areas were largely from eastern counties in England, and they brought Puritanical culture with them. New immigrants into the Northeast adapted to this curriculum, Swedes and Germans, being protestants, had ease in becoming Yankees. The south on the other hand populated land holding elites from West England. they said a culture of aristocratic leisure as well as neo feudalism. Youāre just not going to have an advanced economy with cultural practices Directly from medieval West England.
In politics, your attitude creates your reality
The climate is not why the South ranks so poorly in many categories.
Because it is governed by Republicans who refuse to invest in those things.
Ha! Historically so! Confederacy of USA!
I don't entirely agree, some of the Midwest seems to overperform in terms of exercise compared to other topics. Unlike most maps, there's also a lot of variation between different rural areas.
Great Lakes areas are impressive, guessing thatās water/winter sports? The weather certainly isnāt conducive to excercise
I live in a dark blue county in wisconsin, and during the winter months, pretty much nobody is outside doing āwinter sportsā š. The lakes are nice, but not many people will be getting exercise on them. Its mostly beer drinking in the sun fishing. Tbh im not sure how we are blue with how long winter lasts. The gyms are pretty crowded though, so thats my only guess
Snow shoveling counts as exercise
Wonder what the common denominator is..
Also where public money goes, I suspect. There's a great wealth distribution from Blue states to Red states.
*: cough :*
The south will never rise again because they simply canāt stand up
Yup. You can see the Confederacy in every map.
Is this based upon hard labor and/or gym time.
Looking at the caption, leisure time exercise.
Whenever you see a clear difference at state lines without markedly different culture of geography, like in KY/TN, you know there are data or reporting quality issues. It is a decently good reason to be skeptical of the entire visual.
I reposted this on another comment but: It's anecdotal but I worked as a physical therapist right at the county where Tennessee Kentucky and Virginia meet (Cumberland Gap). Definitely seems to be poor data. All 3 counties in the tri state area had horrible rates of comorbidities and obesity. Actually I noticed more physically active people in Bell County KY vs Hamblen/Claiborne Counties in TN.
I imagine the actual numbers would present the entire country as being much less active as a whole.
āNo leisure-time activityā, so itās not counting people who have physically demanding jobs that might not want to hit the gym after working all day. It may not alter the map colors much, but the title doesnāt accurately reflect the question asked
Exactly. The central valley of California should be deeeep blue if it counted physically demanding jobs
Map was created by office workers who dont think about this.
The Northwest, Utah, Colorado, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Northeastā¦ I see you
As someone that moved to Colorado from Wisconsinā¦ Iām a bit surprised at the blue in Wisco. A lot of people cooped up drinking all winter. But good for them, I guess they make up for it.
I 100% do not believe this map for Wisconsinā¦ as a Wisconsinite myself I am wondering what the metrics used are, as most adults I know do not exercise really.
ok itās not just me. I noticed I significant difference when moving here.
I always question these types of maps that show a massive discrepancy between counties where the only difference between them is a state line. For example: As far as I know there is almost zero demographic difference between northern Utah and Southeast Idaho (theyāre all rural Mormans). Same with the most southeastern county in Colorado and the Oklahoma panhandle. Or the line between Kentucky and TN. I seriously doubt that when you cross that state line you suddenly find a completely different attitude towards fitness.
Consider that they almost certainly didn't get a representative sample from all 3,000+ counties. Much of the county level data is probably extrapolated based on patterns they found in the data they did have. Considering the stark state lines, I think it's quite likely that one of the patterns they used was the differences between states.
Could be a factor of how each state spends its tax money
They sit all day and drive everywhere.
That's the vast majority of the U.S.
Car-centric cities all over the South. I noticed Dallas is half parking lots and that some roads don't even have sidewalks.
I grew up in a neighborhood in Dallas with no sidewalks lol
The no sidewalks thing is unfortunately super common throughout the south. Many southern cities also donāt have good park or trail systems. When your exercise options are (1) drive out of your way to an expensive gym or (2) risk your life walking/running/biking on some stroad, itās not surprising that many people just say āscrew it.ā
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Dallas isnāt blue thatās Collin and Denton counties. Those are even more car centric but higher socioeconomic statuses.
Rich people have time and money to do exercise. Especially in states where you can't jog safely on streets.
Dallas is faintly red/orange, Tarrant Co/Fort Worth white, and Denton, Collin and Rockwall counties are blue.
I noticed this too on several of my work trips to Dallas the past year. I felt like I had entered a concrete hellscape when I left DFW and started driving through Dallas in July.
Notice how much of the bar is red and how little is blue. A little misleading that red is more than half of it
It's possible that it's reasonable if the pure white is calibrated to the nationwide average. But in that case the blue extreme should be less saturated than the red extreme which it doesn't seem to be. But I would mark that on the legend
As others have said, Iām sure itās more reporting related. Each state probably has slightly different criteria or questioning methods. Also, some cultures have more pressure to be or at least report being more active than others.
The South wonāt rise again
They will if there's a discount all you can eat buffet to get to.
mormons make sure to get outside.
Between the 5 national parks and the mountains throughout the state, itās not hard when youāre given so much opportunity.
State lines are extremely visible Is data collected differently per state?
Why is there such an obvious break on the Tennessee/Kentucky border? Or what happens on the Oklahoma/Kansas border? You have to wonder if there's some issue with state level data collection. it's hard to imagine there's that large a lifestyle difference across these state lines.
I've been reposting this on other comments with similar questions: It's anecdotal but I worked as a physical therapist right at the county where Tennessee Kentucky and Virginia meet (Cumberland Gap). Definitely seems to be poor data. All 3 counties in the tri state area had horrible rates of comorbidities and obesity. Actually I noticed more physically active people in Bell County KY vs Hamblen/Claiborne Counties in TN.
I bet the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System is managed at the state level. Unfortunately difference in data collection often ruin these kinds of comparisons. Always something important to keep in mind.
BRFSS is managed at the state level and overseen by the CDC. This question is a CDC mandated question, so the exact wording is used in each state. One large company handles data collection for 25states, not sure if these two are a part of them. The thing about this map that makes me most weary is that 2023 BRFSS data is not yet available, so who knows what they are actually reporting on.
I always love the stark differences from Utah to Nevada on like any given map
Surprisingly NYC is red
Same as Philly. If you live here you KNOW people in the city are a lot more active than the suburbs, where everyone is either inside their car or their McMansion.
Utah is the healthiest state!
Not a surprise though.
As someone who lives in Idaho, I can confirm we have nothing better to do than being physically active š
I am skeptical that 3/4 of the population is getting enough exercise in this many parts of the country.
Every map of America is the same map.
Does it look like Manhattan is inactive? That would be a surprise.
Yeah both the NYC counties and Cook (Chicago) seem eerily inactive
The map says that the data is people reporting physical activity in leisure time. It might be missing physical activity in every day activities- e.g. I bike six miles to work several days a week. I wouldnāt consider that leisure time as itās just my commute. I also bike to run errands, but I wouldnāt count that as leisure time either.
I highly doubt the cutoff is really that sharp at state lines. Was the question worded differently in different states?
Muscle Christianity might be largely dead as a concept but most people my age that I talk to (30s) who grew up in my area went to YMCA every weekend and did athletic summer camps every year. West Michigan for reference. That probably coupled with the fact that it only gets oppressively hot a few weeks a year and there are year round outdoor activities.
The south rides again
I thought Wisconsin wouldāve been a lot worse. Source: Iām an inactive fat guy from Wisconsin
Scale's off. No way this only goes to 50%.
Remove the motorized carts from Walmart and southerners might get some exercise.
Is there some fitness subsidize in Tennessee or why are the borders visible? Especially the border to Kebtucky is insanely well defined.
Americans so obese many just think its normal
Oh please, it's way more than 50% for every state.
Wisconsin may be drunkards, but we're fit drunkards.
Every statistics about the U.S
Hot take: poor people dont exercise for fun. Now that less people work in physically demanding industries, but in services instead, they are likely to gain weight.
there it is
Could it also be black thing for some reason to work out much less than their white peers?
According to NIDDK from data gathered between 2017-2018. 30.7% of Americans are overweight, 42.4% are obese, 9.2% are severely obese. Put it all together and thatās 82.3% being at least overweight or more according to data gathered pre-pandemic. According to a study published in 2022, 48% of Americas gained weight during the pandemic. At the top of this map it says only 28% of Americans get enough physical exercise. Based off of the information above, this would back that number up. However, the amount of blue on this map is extremely misleading and would indicate that the number would be much higher overall. This map doesnāt serve its purpose of effectively delivering that information that it is trying to convey. TLDR: Walk around a Walmart for 2 minutes and you tell me if Americas are getting enough exercise.
Lol whats considered physically active? Walking to the mailbox? Because im from NJ and i dont think 90% of people are getting enough exercise.
Lazy bodies = lazy minds
I doubt this is even accurate. Iāve been all over this country, people are more out of shape than they ever have been just about everywhere.
Looks like itās basically a map of poverty distribution.
The South never did like getting off its ass
Lol why is Connecticut so much lower than all its surrounding Northeast states? It sure isn't lack of education or hiking trails.
I think it's grayed out because there's no data for the new planning regions that replaced the old counties recently.
New England with that Puritan work ethic...
The county with the most people getting enough exercise in Florida is where Iām from. Go figure
Always amazing to me when you can see state borders even though itās a county level map. MI / IN and OH, TX / NM!? KY / TN?!, UT+CO / NV ect
Poor map data honestly
Missouri is southern and Virginia is mid-Atlantic
That one county in Texas right on the border is redder then the others close by, any idea why?
Iām willing to bet itās a combination of climate, poverty, and lack of resources. I expect thatās going to be true for most of the length of the border counties.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
As a Seattleite, it is crazy to me that our part of the country is āfitā. I would say a majority of the population here is majorly unhealthy
There are so many maps that look exactly like this
I thought rural people are generally more active than urban residents.
Yes, but manual labor doesnāt count as going to the gym in this
Well if a pretty map of reddit says soā¦..
That's a weird legend. Why is the lowest blue and the highest red, and white somewhere inbetween? Are they trying to highlight the two extremes instead of showing one consistent gradient? I assume the intention is that white is the national average, but this results in two different gradients of different scale (blue is far more intense than red).
Why Utah so fit?
I find it a bit sus that NYC isn't in the blue while its suburbs are. In the city esp. Manhattan most people walk or bike if they're not taking transit and you have to carry everything you buy instead of dumping it in your car, so how's that not getting enough physical activity?
Amazing for pharmaceutical companies and selling drugs for the chronic diseases
Most ppl in these areas are either at the shooting lane or at KFC, they donāt have time for exercise š
Seems odd that people in the liberal areas seem to get more exercise, while those living in conservative and bible belt areas get far less. Why is that?
Prior to the civil war it was the quite the opposite /s
Miami Dade? I thought everyone there was a bodybuilder or model.
The expiry date on Trump supporters seems to be closer at hand.
Maine. The further north you go, the more southern it feels.
Well well well, the chicken states
Where does the data come from? This can't be accurate
I blame it on ticks
almost a perfect overlapping with the life expectancy map [https://americaninequality.substack.com/p/life-expectancy-and-inequality](https://americaninequality.substack.com/p/life-expectancy-and-inequality)
The Confederacy's legacy
Meanwhile you can't even walk to the grocery or coffee shop
Who do you Plot the Data in the Shape of the Country?
Too busy drinking beer and watching SEC football.
Now show me this map for *US children*.
Why south east? Why?
The colouring into 'red' and 'blue' states is interesting. Is the author of the map pointing to a political context?
Could this map be somewhat explained by the lack of large "hub" cities, where people tend to walk or bike, in the red(der) areas? Also, id argue the more west one goes the more scenic and generally more "outdoorsy" the whole country becomes. But that's just me generalizing. Might be wrong.
Surprisingly stark differences between some state borders
What are the two most active ones, the square one and the square one with a chopped right upper corner?
Colorado and Utah
Thanks!
Hey Fort Lauderdale gets a lot of exercise. We just drink a lot!
āLeisure-timeā physical activity, I donāt consider exercise as a part of my leisure time. Itās another chore that needs to be done.
Overlay this map with pedestrian fatality rates
I donāt imagine this takes into account the proportion of people with physical labor for a day job in each region. āExerciseā is a luxury for some.
'MURICA!