Exercise, Activity, Fitness

Primary Listings

Activity Calorie Calculator (Interactive) Editor's Pick

The Calorie Control Council provides a simple activity calorie calculator called GetMoving! Calculator, to find out how many calories a person burns doing fun activities. The calculator includes cooking, gardening, golfing, playing the piano, or walking at a slow pace. Just put in your weight. Activities for all seasons including baseball, football, bicycling, skiing (water and snow), raking the leaves, washing the car … the list goes on.

Exercise and Physical Activity as You Age and Any Age (NIH)

Online guide describes the benefits of exercise and physical activity for all ages. Includes sample exercises for endurance, strength, balance, and flexibility; also diet and nutrition tips. From the National Institute on Aging (NIA) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

How often do physicians advise patients to exercise?

Data from the National Health Interview Survey, 2010, show that about one in three adults (32.4%) who had seen a physician or other health professional in the past 12 months had been advised to begin or continue to do exercise or physical activity. NCHS Data Brief 86, February 2012. This data brief is no longer updated. However, updated results from the 2016 (or later) NHIS questionnaire may become available in the future.

Low Back Pain Exercise Guide

Exercise guide for low back pain, prepared by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS). Easy to follow, with simple drawings of exercises. Reviewed January 2022.

Physical Activity, Diet, Health Literacy (health.gov)

Federal government helps you get tips on physical activity fitness, diet and better nutrition, and how to improve communication on health subjects (health literacy). Site developed by Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, part of HHS.

Sports Fitness (MedlinePlus)

Sports Fitness at MedlinePlus provides ad-free information on strength and endurance. Topics include: Stretching, weight training, athletic shoes, sports medicine, sports pressure, carbo-loading, sports nutrition, performance-enhancing drugs and anabolic steroids, (pre-participation) sports physicals for kids.

Stretching: Focus on Flexibility – MayoClinic.com

Stretching: Focus on flexibility is from the Mayo Clinic. Learn four benefits of stretching and how to do it properly. Updated 2022

Worksite Wellness Resource Kit

Worksite Wellness Resource Kit has been assembled by Wisconsin to aid businesses by reducing costs. The return on investment was calculated as $3.27 on medical costs for every dollar spent on wellness programs. Absenteeism costs were calculated to fall by about $2.73 for every dollar spent. Revised January 2021; 121 pages.

Other Helpful Listings

Lifestyle Improvements vs. Metformin to Prevent Diabetes – Which is better?

Which is better to prevent diabetes: lifestyle improvements or the medication metformin? The national Diabetes Prevention Program clinical trial found that lifestyle interventions of diet (less fat, fewer calories), exercise (150 minutes a week), and behavior modification highly effective. People on the 850 mg of Metformin twice a day and those on a placebo were compared to those in the Lifestyle Change program at 10 years and 15 years. Another followup study was started in 2016, and expected to last 10 years. Beginning in 2018, Medicare was expected to cover participation in the CDC’s National Diabetes Prevention Program for those who are eligible. Federal government NIH publication.

Medical Fitness Association: Find an MFA Facility

Find a medical fitness facility. The Medical Fitness Association (MFA) is a non-profit organization that tracks, supports and promotes the industry of medical fitness centers. Facility locator identifies centers worldwide. However, your state may not have any fitness centers that belong to the association. About 137 medical fitness facilities were listed in the US as of October 2022.

Personal Trainers – Find an ACE-certified Professional

Find a personal trainer or other exercise professional certified by ACE – the American Council on Exercise, a large non-profit fitness certification and education provider. Consumers can also check to see if their personal trainer is certified by ACE.

Prediabetes Management Guidelines (AACE)

Guidelines for the management of Prediabetes have been included in the Comprehensive Type 2 Diabetes Management Algorithm. Provided by the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE). According to the CDC, more than twice the number of current diabetics, are those estimated to have prediabetes. Updated guidelines 2022, with another updated expected in May 2023.

Trends in Health Fitness

Worldwide Trends in Health Fitness for 2023. American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) lists findings from their annual survey. Wearable technology (including fitness trackers) remained the number 1 trend. Coming in at #2, was Strength Training, as Home Exercise Gyms dropped to 13th. Third top trend was Body Weight Training, pushing Outdoor Activities to 6th place. Fitness for Older Adults came in at #4, followed by Functional Fitness at #5. Online training dropped to #21 (from 9th place last year), as the pandemic waned. Online training – clearly pandemic related – dropped from 1st place last year, to #9. Survey sent to personal trainers and other health fitness professionals; 3% response rate (more than 3,500 responses). Published Jan.-Feb. 2023 issue of Health & Fitness Journal.