This analysis of Access to Exercise Opportunities & Leisure-Time Physical Activity was conducted by Irwin Broh Research in July 2019. The source for this analysis was the 2019 County Health Rankings & Roadmaps (countyhealthrankings.org), using data from 2010 & 2018 Business Analyst, DeLorme map data, Esri & U.S. Census files (Access to Exercise) and 2015 CDC Diabetes Interactive Atlas (Physical Activity).
For purposes of this analysis, Access to Exercise Opportunities and Leisure-Time Physical Activity are defined as follows:
Access to Exercise Opportunities is the percentage of the population in a county who live reasonably close to a location for physical activity, defined as park or recreational facility. Individuals are considered to have access to exercise opportunities if they:
- Reside in a census block that is within a half mile of a park, or
- Reside in an urban census block that is within one mile of a recreational facility, or
- Reside in a rural census block that is within three miles of a recreational facility.
Leisure-Time Physical Activity is the percentage of adults age 20 or older reporting physical activity when asked “During the past month, other than your regular job, did you participate in any physical activities or exercises such as running, calisthenics, golf, gardening, or walking for exercise?”
