{"692462":{"#nid":"692462","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Warming Climate Could Actually Increase Physical Activity, Georgia Tech Economist Finds","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EHardly anyone loves exercising in the festering crucible of a brutal summer heatwave. So it stands to reason that as global temperatures rise, the kind of physical activity that\u2019s so crucial for our health and economic productivity could fall.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S0047272726000745?via%3Dihub\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 title=\u0022(opens in a new window)\u0022\u003Erecent research\u003C\/a\u003E from Georgia Tech\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/econ.gatech.edu\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 title=\u0022(opens in a new window)\u0022\u003ESchool of Economics\u003C\/a\u003E in the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts suggests adding an asterisk to earlier research that makes that conclusion, saying previous studies failed to account for one simple fact: people adapt.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech economist \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/iac.gatech.edu\/people\/person\/889222ee-d2fd-599b-9140-79d7dc30afeb\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBobby Harris\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E used a massive database of Fitbit step count data to measure how temperature shapes physical activity and found that extreme heat cuts step counts by 6% when compared to ideal weather. And while residents of the warmest regions cut their activity by an average of only 354 steps on days over 100 degrees, those living in the coldest regions cut theirs by 1,081, according to Harris\u2019 analysis.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo be fair, cold bites, too. On days that stay below freezing, people take roughly 1,000 fewer steps. That\u2019s a 12% drop, enough to pack on a pound over the course of a typical Madison, Wisconsin winter, Harris found.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut as the climate grows warmer, how humanity will respond to warmer temperatures remains a significant concern. In fact, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.bmj.com\/content\/392\/bmj.s514\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 title=\u0022(opens in a new window)\u0022\u003Eearlier research\u003C\/a\u003E projected that, by 2050, temperature-driven declines in physical activity could contribute to 500,000 premature deaths a year worldwide and annual productivity losses topping $2.4 billion.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProjections like those typically assume everyone responds to heat the same way, with no capacity to adapt, Harris said.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/iac.gatech.edu\/featured-news\/2026\/09\/climate-change-physical-activity-adaptation\u0022\u003ERead Full Story on the IAC News Page\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli data-list-item-id=\u0022ef65b166366f6499d63005112fb785d6f\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe Finding\u003C\/strong\u003E: A study led by economist Bobby Harris at Georgia Tech\u0027s Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts reveals climate change could increase average U.S. physical activity by 893 steps per day by 2099 as people adapt to rising temperatures.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli data-list-item-id=\u0022e89b00ae19f9597ec785b646581c9fc95\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBy the Numbers\u003C\/strong\u003E: Fitbit data used in Harris\u2019 study show that warm-climate residents are \u003Cstrong\u003E50% less sensitive\u003C\/strong\u003E to heat extremes than northern neighbors, \u003Cstrong\u003Ecutting 354 steps on hot days\u003C\/strong\u003E \u003Cstrong\u003Ecompared to 1,081 in cooler regions\u003C\/strong\u003E.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli data-list-item-id=\u0022eb7df64a5e9dccfd5ae6f4af39678e1e6\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EExpert Insight\u003C\/strong\u003E: \u0022There are still significant dangers to rising temperatures, but we must better factor adaptive capacity into conversations about climate change,\u201d Harris said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":" study led by economist Bobby Harris at Georgia Tech\u0027s Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts reveals climate change could increase average U.S. physical activity by 893 steps per day by 2099 as people adapt to rising temperatures. "}],"uid":"36413","created_gmt":"2026-09-09 16:23:47","changed_gmt":"2026-09-09 16:25:50","author":"pdevarajan3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-09-01T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-09-01T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"681107":{"id":"681107","type":"image","title":"climate-and-activity-paper-harris--1-.jpg","body":null,"created":"1788971073","gmt_created":"2026-09-09 16:24:33","changed":"1788971073","gmt_changed":"2026-09-09 16:24:33","alt":"Person holding a water bottle in their left hand wearing a smart watch and a towel on his shoulder appearing to be after a workout","file":{"fid":"265463","name":"climate-and-activity-paper-harris--1-.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/09\/climate-and-activity-paper-harris--1-.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/09\/09\/climate-and-activity-paper-harris--1-.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":59696,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/09\/09\/climate-and-activity-paper-harris--1-.jpg?itok=jVZ4yMKf"}}},"media_ids":["681107"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/iac.gatech.edu\/featured-news\/2026\/09\/climate-change-physical-activity-adaptation","title":"Read Full Story on IAC News Page"}],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"367481","name":"SEI Energy"},{"id":"1280","name":"Strategic Energy Institute"}],"categories":[{"id":"144","name":"Energy"},{"id":"151","name":"Policy, Social Sciences, and Liberal Arts"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"186858","name":"go-sei"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}