Think for a moment about how you would answer this question: Would you rather lose 20 pounds of weight or $2,000 of debt?
If your answer is the weight, you’re right in line with most other North Carolinians who responded to a survey from BarBend.com, a world leader in news and information about strength training.
The results show that 54 percent of North Carolinians who took part in the survey said they are more concerned about their “fitness debt” than their financial debt. Financial debt may be an all-too-familiar term to many, but just what is “fitness debt?”
“Fitness debt, or fitness deficit, can be defined as the difference between how much exercise you should be doing and the amount of exercise you actually do on a regular basis,” according to information from BarBend.
“If you’re exercising your body for fewer hours than it needs to function optimally, you have a fitness debt, which can be measured as a percentage. Over time, a fitness deficit can add up and negatively impact one’s health, leading to things like weight gain and increased risk of certain health factors – much like how a poor credit score can affect finances,” the statement continued.
In another study by BarBend, North Carolinians, on average, complete 111.3 hours of training or physical activity each year. That’s less than the CDC recommendation of 130 hours, so North Carolina has an average fitness debt of 18.7 hours per year.
Compare that to the national average of 115.1 hours – fitness debt of 7.3 percent – and North Carolina’s ranks lower than the national average.
So, what can individuals do to lower that fitness debt? Some of the same tactics that we use to reduce financial debt can be adapted to help improve overall fitness.
Those New Years’ resolutions to move more, spend less may have faded into oblivion as we approach the halfway mark of 2022. It helps to be conscious of the number of hours that you are seated during the day – whether it’s behind a desk, watching TV or sitting in front of a computer.
“It may sound innocuous to think about the number of hours per day you are sitting down, but sitting has even been referred to as the ‘new smoking’ based on the number of health issues it can trigger,” according to BarBend.
The only two states with a fitness “credit” are the Dakotas – South Dakota has a fitness credit of 7.3 percent, which means that South Dakotans work out 7.3 hours above the CDC recommendations; North Dakota also had a fitness credit of 3.7 percent.
The state with the overall highest fitness deficit is Wyoming, which had a 35.6 percent deficit – its residents worked out 35.6 fewer hours than the recommended 130 hours.