Not to be negative, but I wasn’t really surprised when I saw a new report about how so many Americans are missing their exercise goals. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says about a third of adults are not meeting the minimum levels of physical activity from the newly released 2008 Guidelines.

Those guidelines recommend two and a half hours a week of moderate activity, like brisk walking, or 75 minutes a week of vigorous activity, like running. Doesn’t seem like that much, does it?

Other guidelines – from the government’s Healthy People 2010 – say we need at least 30 minutes of moderate activity five days a week, or 20 minutes of vigorous activity three days a week. Only half of those surveyed in the CDC’s report meet those goals.

And even stronger guidelines come from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) – that groups says we should exercise at least an hour a day to maintain our health and weight.

Why so many guidelines? Which ones – if any – do you follow?

Me – I’ve been slacking a little because of the evil winter season (we don’t get along), but my exercise levels are usually more along the guidelines of the IOM.

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If you want to be healthy, you know you gotta get moving, right? But how much exercise do you need? New government guidelines say that depends a lot on how old you are… and your level of fitness.

But basically, the new Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans says adults get big health benefits from two and a half hours a week of moderate exercise, and children benefit from an hour or more a day.

The goal of the new guidelines from the Department of Health and Human Services is to put an end to years of confusion about how much exercise we need and to let people know there are lots of ways to be active, even if you have to start slowly.

Here are some of the specifics:

Children and Teenagers — One hour or more of moderate or vigorous exercise a day, including vigorous exercise at least three days a week. Moderate activities include hiking, skateboarding, riding a bike, and brisk walking. Vigorous exercise includes bicycle riding, jumping rope, running and sports like soccer, basketball and ice or field hockey. Children and teens should also do muscle-strengthening activities, like rope climbing, sit-ups, and tug-of war, three days a week.  Bone-strengthening activities, like jumping rope, running and skipping, are recommended three days a week.

Adults – Adults get big health benefits from two and a half hours a week of moderate exercise, or one hour and 15 minutes of vigorous exercise. Walking briskly, water aerobics, ballroom dancing and gardening are examples of moderate activities. Vigorous exercise includes racewalking, jogging or running, swimming laps, jumping rope and hiking uphill or with a heavy backpack. Also, include muscle strengthening activities, like weight training, push-ups, sit-ups or heavy gardening at least two days a week.

Older adults — Follow the guidelines for other adults if you are physically able to do so. If a chronic condition keeps you from those guidelines, be as physically active as you can. And if you’re at risk of falling, also include exercises that maintain or improve balance.

Here’s something that helps me remember the levels of exercise – you should be able to talk while you’re doing moderate activities but not be able to catch your breath enough to sing. With vigorous exercise, you can say just a few words without stopping to catch a breath.

Of course, these new guidelines are just the minimum goals – you will see greater benefits if you exercise more.

I workout 5+ hours a week and definitely do lots of vigorous activity as I continue to get my booty kicked in my Boot Camp class. Are you within the new guidelines? Or above or below them? And if you have kids, how much exercise do they get?

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Last month I told you about the research that shows exercise video games – like Wii Sports and Dance Dance Revolution – can significantly boost kids’ activity levels. Now there’s another study that says children who play the latest physically challenging video games burn calories at levels that might help protect them from becoming overweight and improve their heart health at the same time.

The report – in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine – shows children burn about four times as many calories per minute playing a physically active video game than playing a seated game. Their heart rate is also much higher.

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