So this weekend, when I chose to hit the couch rather than take a jog, was it because I don’t realize the feds have guidelines for the amount of exercise I should get each day? Of course not.  It’s because I wanted to watch TV.  That’s why I laughed out loud when I read this story. Duke researcher Gary Bennett thinks that, despite 15 years worth of education/awareness campaigns about the need to exercise and the federal recommendations, what will help get more people off the couch is more money for more awareness. (emphasis is mine)

The report said one reason for the limited success is the “highly generalized, saturating effect of media in the current environment. Through varied sources, many are bombarded with multiple physical activity and general health promotion ‘recommendations’ that may be challenging to differentiate.”

The study found this lack of knowledge to be more pronounced among men, the unemployed, U.S.-born individuals, and those who were not meeting the physical activity recommendations.

Bennett sees cause for hope, however.

Last year the federal government issued more definitive “guidelines,” with specific activity targets for different segments of the population: adults, children, elderly, disabled, and pregnant (view them at http://www.health.gov/paguidelines/pdf/fs_prof.pdf).

“Now that we have one coordinated set of guidelines, we think we may have a better chance of decreasing some of the confusion in the American public about what the guidelines really are,” Bennett said, adding that he’d like to see more spending on public information campaigns about the new guidelines.

With all due respect to the professor, the vast majority of Americans understand that exercise is important to physical well being. We’re just too lazy to do it. What will incent more people to get off the couch is to directly connect weight with the cost of health insurance, which should reflect the risk associated with one’s choices. This would ensure we each have the freedom to choose our lifestyle and then bear the consequences and responsibilities that go along with those choices.