A survey by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found obesity rates were frozen last year at around 28 percent of adults compared to 2008. But 34.7% claimed in 2009 they engage in regular leisure physical activity, up from 31.9% in 2008.

Health experts and the U.S. government both recommend getting daily
exercise — about an hour a day of moderate exercise for most adults —
to keep weight off and prevent heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

Some other facts from the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics:

  • More than 66% said they had excellent or very good health, down
    from 68.5% in 2008. 2.4% said they had poor health.
  • The prevalence of obesity among adults aged 20 and over has increased from 19.4% in 1997 to 28% in 2009.
  • In 2009, 9% of adults 18 and over had diabetes, up from 8.2% in 2008 and 5% in 1997.
  • 20.6% of adults smoked, about the same as in 2008.
  • Nearly 23% of adults had at least one day of binge drinking in 2009, defined as having five or more drinks in a day.
  • Just over 4% of all Americans said they had an asthma attack in the past year.