Recently someone mentioned to me the exercise guidelines had been changed to 45 minutes of activity 5 days a week.  I was pleased, but surprised.  The last time I had noted any change in the guidelines set by the American College of Sports Medicine it had been a decrease from 60 minutes to 30 minutes of moderate physical activity 5 days a week, or 20 minutes of vigorous activity 3 days a week.  I had been disappointed because I felt the guidelines were accounting for people's laziness rather than what was actually good for them.  While I firmly believe something is better than nothing, there is no debating the fact American's are getting less exercise than ever.  Our current lifestyle lends itself to sitting.  People will get in their car to drive 3 blocks to the store rather than walk.  Even dogs in America are experiencing an increase in obesity.  I would venture to say the dogs aren't prone to lying around all day; an overweight dog is the owner's fault.

But back to the guidelines.  I did some research, and unfortunately it appears the most recent guidelines adopted by the CDC and set by ACSM and AHA remain 30 minutes 5 days a week.  This is 3 10 minute walks a day.  For some reason, people have a hard time wrapping their heads around that.  I often hear "I don't have time."  I don't feel this is ever an accurate statement.  Everyone has 30 minutes during their day where they are watching TV, surfing the internet, reading the newspaper.  We aren't willing to tear ourselves away from current events and fictionalized reality long enough to take care of ourselves.  The kicker is most people will tell you how much better they feel after exercising.  It's getting themselves to do it that's the hard part.