-4-50 paperLack of exercise is a key contributor to disease and death among many people in the United States, regardless of age. It is a well-known fact that exercise results in a healthier lifestyle. Along with tobacco use and poor nutrition, lack of exercise is one of the main issues that people have which leads to high blood pressure, obesity, and other serious health problems. According to a study by UCSD School of Medicine and SDSU researchers, lack of physical activity is the main contributor to obesity in children from age 11 to 15 (10 News, 2004). That study showed that 45 percent of 878 children were either at risk for becoming overweight or were already classified as overweight by the body mass index of the age group. The lack of exercise can also be a result of more time in front of the television instead of playing outside. Obesity is now considered an epidemic in the United States. The rates have risen 60 percent in the last decade. Obesity not only constricts your mobility and decreases your energy it also increases your risk for type 2 diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, sleep apnea and cancer. A study published in the 2005, “Archives of Internal Medicine” by the Washington Post reveal that regular exercise can increase your life span. Researchers found that the people who did moderate exercise five days a week lived a half a year longer, and people who did intense exercise five times a week lived 3.7 years longer. This selected behavior is difficult to change because most people do not have the determination and will power to push their selves to make the lifestyle change. Some people were raised in a society in which heavier people are what are normal and there is not a need felt to lose weight or strive for a healthier lifestyle. Others do not have the time nor energy to exercise regularly enough to stay healthy. And there are people who do