Obesity is a problem among children and adults alike all throughout the United States. The statistics that have been gathered on the subject more than back up this claim, showing that nearly 80 million adults are currently obese, a number that is expected to rise to make up at least half of the total adult population of this country by the time that we reach the year of 2030. And children are not spared from this epidemic, with very nearly 17% of all children considered to be obese – and many more considered to be overweight, though they have not yet reached the medical classification of obese.

Being obese is hugely detrimental to your health, even if you might be obese and doing fine at the current moment. But the longer you are obese, the more at risk your overall health will become and while some of these health conditions can be reversible with the adoption of a healthier lifestyle and the weight loss that is bound to follow, this will certainly not always be the case. From an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes (which now up to one third of all adults in this country have) to developing various other conditions that can lead to a heart attack or even a stroke to simply developing a variety of chronic pain concerns and mobility issues as the weight continues to pile on, obesity can, in far too many cases, become hugely debilitating.

But how are so many people even getting to such a point in the first place? Obesity stems from a number of places, but a lack of exercise and physical movement tends to be a primary factor in weight gain and difficulty in losing it. Unfortunately, only around 5% of all adults in this country are getting up and getting active for even just a mere 30 minutes out of the day, with less than half of this adult population meeting weekly exercise recommendations. And only about one child out of every three finds the time to be active on a daily basis, in stark contrast to the hour of physical activity that kids over the age of two are recommended to get each and every day.

Much of this lack of movement and activity can be attributed to our growing use of screens, particularly among children of all ages. For many children, screen time provides endless possibility, from playing games to watching movies and TV shows and various other types of videos on YouTube. The average child is even estimated to use screens of varying natures for as many as seven and a half hours over the course of just one day.

Fortunately, there are many ways to begin to incorporate exercise into your day to day living. For many people, simply going on walks is a great way to get up and moving, especially when the weather is nice. In fact, up to 30% of people who exercise regularly will exercise most frequently by walking. However, going to a home fitness store can be beneficial as well.

A home fitness store or even a sports store or specialized fitness equipment store can provide you with access to all of the workout equipment that you need. At a home fitness store, you can find the equipment that will work for your home – and for your needs. For many people, going to a home fitness store to buy some of the fitness equipment that this home fitness store has to offer is ideal because it prevents them from needing a gym membership. For though the things sold at your typical home fitness store might be quite expensive, they are likely to cost less money in the long run than continually paying for a gym membership would.

But whether you purchase equipment from a home fitness store or from a sports store or even just decide to go on a lot of walks, getting up and getting moving as much as you possibly can is really the most important thing of all for your health.