Contents
- Physical activity participation statistics: U.S. adults meeting aerobic guidelines
- Physical activity participation statistics by age and race
- Physical activity participation statistics across income, education, and region
- Physical activity participation statistics and reported health
- Physical activity participation statistics among U.S. high-school students
- Physical activity participation statistics in Australia: measured daily movement
- Sources
Physical activity participation statistics: U.S. adults meeting aerobic guidelines
In 2024, 47.2% of U.S. adults aged 18 and older met federal aerobic physical activity guidelines during leisure time. The estimate comes from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) and describes self-reported leisure-time activity among the civilian noninstitutionalized population. It does not count activity in every setting, such as physical activity at work, as part of this particular measure. The reported 95% confidence interval was 46.3% to 48.0%. (CDC/NCHS)
That scope matters when interpreting the figure: it is a measure of the share reporting enough leisure-time aerobic activity to meet the guideline, not a direct measurement of all movement throughout the day. It also does not mean the remaining 52.8% reported no activity; they may have been active without reaching the guideline threshold through leisure-time activity.
Men were more likely than women to meet the leisure-time aerobic guideline in the 2024 survey: 52.3% of men, compared with 42.4% of women. The confidence intervals were 51.1%–53.5% for men and 41.3%–43.4% for women. These are survey estimates for U.S. adults, not counts of individuals. (CDC/NCHS)
Physical activity participation statistics by age and race
The share meeting the aerobic guideline declined across the older age groups shown in the 2024 NHIS estimates. Among adults aged 18–34, 54.0% met the guideline. The proportion was 49.8% among those aged 35–49, 44.6% among ages 50–64, and 38.4% among adults 65 and older. Each figure refers to self-reported leisure-time activity. (CDC/NCHS)
| Age group | Met leisure-time aerobic guideline |
|---|---|
| 18–34 | 54.0% |
| 35–49 | 49.8% |
| 50–64 | 44.6% |
| 65 and older | 38.4% |
The estimates also varied by race and Hispanic origin. In 2024, 49.2% of non-Hispanic White adults and 47.9% of non-Hispanic Asian adults met the guideline. The estimate was 43.8% for Hispanic adults and 41.4% for non-Hispanic Black adults. The Hispanic category may include people of any race; the other listed categories are identified as non-Hispanic in the source table. (CDC/NCHS)
These comparisons describe group-level survey estimates. They do not show why participation differs, and they should not be read as predictions for any individual. The confidence intervals also vary by group, so small differences between estimates warrant care.
Physical activity participation statistics across income, education, and region
Household income and education were associated with substantial differences in the percentage of adults meeting the leisure-time aerobic guideline in 2024. The estimate ranged from 35.4% among adults in families below the federal poverty level to 56.5% among those in families at 400% of the poverty level or more. The intermediate income groups were 36.7% at 100% to less than 200% of the poverty level, and 43.8% at 200% to less than 400%. (CDC/NCHS)
| Family income as a share of federal poverty level | Met guideline |
|---|---|
| Below 100% | 35.4% |
| 100% to less than 200% | 36.7% |
| 200% to less than 400% | 43.8% |
| 400% or more | 56.5% |
A similar gradient appears across education categories: 32.3% of adults with less than a high school diploma or GED met the guideline, compared with 38.6% of adults with a high school diploma or GED, 47.4% with an associate’s degree or some college, and 58.5% with a bachelor’s degree or higher. These figures establish a difference in reported participation, but this evidence does not identify its causes. (CDC/NCHS)
Regional estimates were closer together. The West had the highest listed share, at 51.9%, followed by the Northeast at 48.4%, Midwest at 46.4%, and South at 44.1%. Each percentage is the share of civilian noninstitutionalized adults in that region who met the leisure-time aerobic guideline in the 2024 NHIS. (CDC/NCHS)
Physical activity participation statistics and reported health
The same survey shows differences by disability status, body-mass-index category, and self-assessed health. In 2024, 49.8% of adults classified as without disabilities met the leisure-time aerobic guideline, compared with 22.4% of adults classified as having disabilities. The measure reports participation; it does not establish what explains this difference. (CDC/NCHS)
By BMI category, the shares were 54.8% among adults classified as having a healthy weight, 49.8% among those classified as overweight, and 38.0% among those classified as having obesity. The classifications used respondent-reported height and weight. These cross-sectional percentages do not establish a causal relationship between activity and BMI. (CDC/NCHS)
Participation also differed by respondent-assessed health. Among adults reporting excellent or very good health, 57.8% met the guideline. The estimate was 39.3% among those reporting good health and 23.7% among those reporting fair or poor health. Because both health status and activity are reported in a survey, the figures show an association in these categories rather than which condition came first. (CDC/NCHS)
Physical activity participation statistics among U.S. high-school students
The 2025 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) provides a separate view of activity among U.S. students in grades 9–12. One in four students—25.0%—reported being physically active for at least 60 minutes on all seven days before the survey. This measure has a denominator of 10,197 respondents with nonmissing data. It captures a specific seven-day period, rather than an annual participation rate. (CDC, MMWR)
For muscle-strengthening exercise, 50.6% reported exercising to strengthen or tone muscles on at least three days in the prior seven days. The table’s denominator for this measure was 6,717 respondents, and the source notes that missing-response levels across physical activity measures ranged from 4.8% to 37.3%. A smaller share, 16.1%, met both aerobic and muscle-strengthening guidelines; that combined estimate had a denominator of 9,433. (CDC, MMWR)
School physical education and organized sports are distinct participation measures. In 2025, 19.8% of high-school students attended physical education classes on all five days of an average school week. Separately, 57.6% played on at least one sports team during the 12 months before the survey. The first is a school-week measure; the second covers a full year, so the percentages should not be compared as if they measured the same opportunity or time period. (CDC, MMWR)
Sports-team participation varied across student groups. It was 60.5% among male students and 54.6% among female students. By grade, the estimate was 61.2% for ninth graders and 50.7% for twelfth graders. These estimates refer to playing on at least one team in the prior 12 months; they do not indicate how many sports a student played or how often they participated. (CDC, MMWR)
Physical activity participation statistics in Australia: measured daily movement
Australian data offer a different kind of measure. In the 2023 National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey, adults aged 18 and older who volunteered to wear an accelerometer averaged 4 minutes of vigorous physical activity, 1 hour 45 minutes of moderate activity, and 2 hours 37 minutes of light activity per day. The survey ran from January 2023 to March 2024, while these estimates refer to the 2023 reference year. The results describe adults who volunteered to wear the device, not a self-reported leisure-time guideline measure like the U.S. NHIS statistic. (Australian Bureau of Statistics)
The distribution of vigorous activity shows that the average does not describe every participant. A quarter (25.0%) of adult accelerometer volunteers averaged zero minutes of vigorous activity per day. Another 52.5% averaged 1–4 minutes; 13.1% averaged 5–9 minutes; and 9.3% averaged at least 10 minutes per day. (Australian Bureau of Statistics)
Moderate activity was more widely distributed across daily time bands. Among adult volunteers, 7.3% averaged less than half an hour per day, 15.5% averaged from half an hour to less than one hour, and 21.1% averaged one to less than 1.5 hours. A further 19.9% averaged 1.5 to less than two hours, while 16.7% averaged two to less than 2.5 hours per day. These bands describe measured daily movement in the volunteer group; they are not equivalent to the U.S. guideline-attainment percentages or evidence about all Australian adults. (Australian Bureau of Statistics)