When Erik Wheeler started his five-mile run at noon yesterday, it was 90 degrees and so humid that gills may have worked better than lungs.

Exercising in this kind of heat can make a runner go into survival mode: Wheeler said he has been tempted to rip the hose out of a little boy's hands just for a sip of water.

But Wheeler and the dozen runners who meet at the YMCA to run each afternoon know that summer's a short season in New England. And a recent study indicates New Hampshire's cooler, drier climate may be part of the reason that residents here exercise more than most Americans.

Fifty-six percent of New Hampshire residents participate in moderate physical activity for at least 30 minutes a day, five days a week -ranking it among the top five fittest states in the nation - according to the federal Centers for Disease Control.

Researchers at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, found that residents of states with cooler, drier weather, like Montana, Colorado, and all the New England states, exercise more often than residents of states with more hot and humid weather, including Mississippi, Florida, North Carolina, and Tennessee. The study was published in the July-August issue of The American Journal of Health Behavior.

Still, exercising more than the average American isn't much of a feat, and most New Hampshire residents don't exercise enough.

About 70 percent of locals interviewed by the CDC said they do not participate in vigorous exercise, such as running or heavy yard-work, for at least 20 minutes three times per week. About 46 percent of residents don't regularly participate in moderate exercise, such as walking, gardening or vacuuming.

And New Hampshire residents, like those in the rest of the country, are getting fatter. About 60 percent of residents here are overweight or obese, said Terry Johnson, executive director of the nonprofit group New Hampshire Celebrates Wellness.

But since New Hampshire residents don't face the oppressive heat Alabama residents do, locals should take advantage of summer outdoor activities, including hiking and swimming, Johnson said.

"New Hampshire has every reason in the world to get outside,"Johnson said.

Dr. Ray Merrill, the head researcher of the study and a professor at Brigham Young University, said winter weather is less of an exercise deterrent than the soupy summer air down south. Even residents of northern states such as Minnesota and Maine, where winter is long and dark, are more likely to keep up their exercise regimes, Merrill said.

Wheeler, 40, of Hopkinton, and other members of the lunchtime running crew, said they'd much prefer a December run to an August one.

"You can dress for the cold,"said Joe Bledsoe, 41, of Concord. "On days like yesterday, you're down to shorts and your skin, and there's nothing else to take off."

Chip Sullivan, a 45-year-old Concord attorney, said he prefers to ride a bike inside than ride one outside on a hot, muggy day.

"I'm getting older and I don't need to breathe this stuff, especially the ozone that's out there," he said during an afternoon spinning class.

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