Human beings have been engaging in physical activities throughout history to stay healthy and fit (whether they realized it or not), but the history of fitness didn’t really begin until the 1970s.

1. A Brief History of Fitness

2. Human beings have been engaging in physical activities throughout history to stay healthy and fit (whether they realized it or not),
but the history of fitness didn’t really begin until the 1970s. Prior to 1970, blue-collar workers held the majority of jobs in America.
For this working class, manual labor was a normal part of everyday life. Pushing, pulling, lifting, carrying, running and a wide
variety of physical tasks were part of a typical workday. Exercising (or participating in physical activity to develop or maintain
fitness) wasn’t necessary. In fact, back in 1960, only 24 percent of adults reported exercising routinely. It wasn’t until the 1970s
that Americans (primarily white-collar, middle class workers) began exercising on a regular basis. Read more.

3. Fitness in the 21st Century
Time to fast forward to the present day. In the twenty-first century, the driving force behind the fitness industry is obesity. Recent
statistics reveal the reasons why. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the majority of Americans
are overweight and/or obese (2009-2010).
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69.2% of adults 20 years and over are overweight, including obesity (BMI of 25 or higher)
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35.9% of adults 20 years and over are obese (BMI of 30 or higher)
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18.4% of adolescents age 12-19 years are obese
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18.0% of children age 6-11 years who are obese
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12.1% of children age 2-5 years who are obese