Daily Behavior Tied to Obesity Levels

Researchers stated that too much time driving cars and watching television rather than exercising is making us fat. The study helps shed light on the obesity epidemic.

Americans also spend more time in the office than people in other countries, found the report from a team at the University of California, Berkeley.

The report came the same week federal government researchers said deaths caused by poor eating habits and a lack of exercise were fast catching up to smoking as a leading cause of death. In 2000, 400,000 people died from eating badly and laziness, compared with 435,000 who died from smoking-related illness.

"This study provides a wake-up call for the nation, particularly in light of rising obesity rates in this country," said Linda Dong, a student of epidemiology at UC Berkeley's School of Public Health, who led the activity study.

"A lot of people aren't fully aware of how sedentary their lives are. This paper shows that, as a population, leisure-time physical activities are at the bottom of our priority lists."

Writing in a new publication called the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, Dong and colleagues said they looked at surveys of 7,515 adults questioned from 1992 to 1994 for the National Human Activity Pattern Survey.

They reported on everything they did and how long they did it during the prior 24 hours.

Dong's team analyzed the information and assigned energy output for each activity.

On average, those surveyed spent 170 minutes a day watching TV and movies -- nine times the minutes spent on all leisure exercise. The average time spent driving was 101 minutes a day.

The U.S. Health and Human Services Department launched an advertising campaign on Tuesday aimed at encouraging people to exercise a bit more and eat healthier foods such as fruits and vegetables.

But Dong's team noted Americans may not have as much free time for exercise as citizens of other countries.

They cited U.S. Labor Department statistics that showed workers in the United States clocked in 1,821 hours in 2001, while those in Germany logged 1,467 hours.

"People are supposed to work in 60 minutes a day of moderate physical activity, but given the way our society is now, we don't have a lot of extra time on our hands to go out and jog," said Gladys Bock, a professor of epidemiology and public health nutrition who oversaw the study.