Study Names Residents of Aroostook County as the ‘Laziest’ in Maine

For some people, physical activity just comes easy. It's part of their daily routine, their lifestyle, and the way they go about things. For others, it's a struggle. A mental battle to get their body moving and their heart rate jumping.

Stacker compiled data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on just how active each county is throughout the state of Maine. The data is strictly limited to adults, and is a result of surveys conducted throughout the state.

What that data revealed is that residents of Aroostook County are the least physically active in the entire state. Given how many manual labor jobs exist in the area, the results come as a surprise.

According to Stacker, 67.5% of Aroostook County residents acknowledged that they 'worked out' or did physical activity for leisure at least once per week. Some of the challenges faced by residents include access to gyms or workout facilities, as well as leisure activities that involve physical activity.

While 67.5% of adults being active sounds pretty good, Aroostook County is home to nearly 67,000 adults overall, which means that more than 20,000 adults in the area do not regularly engage in physical activity each week. Some of that can be attributed to Maine's rather extensive elderly population.

That's in stark contrast to the most physically-active county in Maine. 81.1% of Cumberland County adult residents reported engaging in some sort of physical activity at least once per week.

Maine's most physically active county is pacing with the national average. According to Ipsos, roughly four out of every five adults in the United States reports engaging in some sort of physical activity at least once per week. If that data is accurate, then 15 of Maine's 16 counties rank as below average.