Exercise in Minorities Exercise is an important part of a healthy lifestyle. Regular exercise helps us get in shape, maintain fitness and control weight. It also helps reduce the risk of many debilitating conditions. Health experts recommend that we accumulate at least 30 minutes of exercise a day. But despite efforts to get Americans to be more active, many of us still don't get enough exercise.
Lack of exercise is especially a problem in the minority population.
Several reasons have been hypothesized as to why minorities don't get enough exercise. They may live in unsafe neighborhoods and fear going outside. Family and work obligations may give them little time for anything more than sleeping. Many can't afford to go to a gym or buy any exercise equipment. However, when researchers took into account socioeconomic background, they found even at higher education and income levels minorities exercised less frequently than whites of comparable background.