The Wall Street Journal: The Benefits of Sticking to New Year’s Resolution to Work Out More

By Jo Craven McGinty

Mark this date on your calendar: March 7.

That’s when New Year’s resolutions might stick for good, according to one study that estimates it takes an average of 66 days to develop a new habit.

But most people give up sooner than that, with 80% abandoning their pledges by mid-February, according to Gallup.

In 2018, the most recent year available, 53.3% of U.S. adults surveyed by the CDC said they met physical-activity guidelines based on the recommended minutes of moderate or vigorous exercise. When asked about getting two-plus days of muscle-strength training, only 23.2% said they met the guidelines.

But when the researchers counted lifestyle activities like vacuuming, gardening and leisurely walks as contributions toward the goal of 150 minutes of exertion, 95% of participants met the guidelines.

The study, a collaboration of researchers at California State University, University of North Carolina, University of Missouri at Kansas City and Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Mo., was published in the peer-reviewed journal Frontiers in Public Health in 2019.

The researchers didn’t assess the muscle-strengthening guidelines, and with aerobic activity, they found demographic differences: Men were consistently more active than women. People of normal weight tended to be more active than people who were overweight. Hispanics were more active than non-Hispanics. And activity decreased with age.

According to the Frontiers in Public Health study, activities at different levels of intensity also contribute to improved health.

Read the full story via The Wall Street Journal 

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