Cancer Survivors and Physical Activity

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In 2020, 35.5% of cancer survivors aged 18 years and older reported no physical activity in their leisure time.

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Background

As the number of cancer survivors grows and expected survival time increases, the health behaviors of these individuals are becoming an important focus of attention. Adoption or maintenance of healthy lifestyles after a cancer diagnosis has the potential to reduce both cancer- and non-cancer-related morbidity and mortality. Tracking these behaviors permits evaluation of how well cancer control efforts are working to reduce unnecessary disability and death among those with a history of cancer.

To enhance the length and health-related quality of life of cancer survivors, efforts are needed to encourage adequate physical activity. Physical activity may improve treatment outcomes and reduce the risk of developing several types of cancer, including breast, colon, and endometrium (lining of the uterus). Being active may also help to prevent weight gain and obesity, reducing the risk of developing cancers that have been linked to excess body weight. In addition to cancer risk, physical activity may also lower a person’s risk of other health problems such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, and osteoporosis.

Measure

The percentage of cancer survivors reporting no physical activity are based on the self-reporting of individuals with a cancer history who are interviewed as part of the annual population-based National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). Participants were asked how often they perform light, moderate, or vigorous activity for at least 10 minutes.

Healthy People 2030 Target

  • There is no Healthy People 2030 target for physical activity among cancer survivors, though it does include a national objective to increase the mental and physical health-related quality of life of cancer survivors.  However, it is reasonable to set goals determined for the general population, which are to reduce the proportion of adults who engage in no leisure time physical activity to 21.2 percent and increase the proportion of adults who meet the objectives for aerobic physical activity and for muscle-strengthening activity to 28.4 percent.
  • Healthy People 2030 Targets are developed and based on the general population and do not account for differences in the age distribution of cancer survivors compared to the general population. Cancer survivors are typically older than those in the general population who have not had cancer.

Healthy People 2030 is a set of goals set forth by the Department of Health and Human Services.
Note: Goals are indicated as blue line on Detailed Trend Graphs.

Data Source

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. National Health Interview Survey, 1997–2020.

In 2019 the NHIS questionnaire was redesigned to increase relevance, enhance data quality, and minimize respondent burden. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic created challenges conducting in-person interviews for the 2020 NHIS, requiring changes to field procedures to conduct most surveys by telephone, which impacted survey response rates. For details related to the potential impacts of these issues, please refer to Potential Impact of NHIS Redesign and COVID-19 on the Cancer Trends Progress Report.

Trends and Most Recent EstimatesHelp with navigating the graphs and data tables

No Leisure Time Physical Activity

By Sex
Percentage of cancer survivors aged 18 years and older reporting no physical activity in their leisure time by sex, 1997-2020
Overview Graph Detailed Trend Graphs Most Recent Estimates (2020)
Percent of cancer survivors 95% Confidence Interval
Thumbnail of graph for Percentage of cancer survivors aged 18 years and older reporting no physical activity in their leisure time by sex, 1997-2020 Both SexesClick to see the detailed trend graph for Both Sexes 35.5 33.4 - 37.7
MaleClick to see the detailed trend graph for Male 33.2 29.8 - 36.7
FemaleClick to see the detailed trend graph for Female 37.7 35.0 - 40.4
By Age
Percentage of cancer survivors aged 18 years and older reporting no physical activity in their leisure time by age, 1997-2020
Overview Graph Detailed Trend Graphs Most Recent Estimates (2020)
Percent of cancer survivors 95% Confidence Interval
Thumbnail of graph for Percentage of cancer survivors aged 18 years and older reporting no physical activity in their leisure time by age, 1997-2020 Ages 18-44Click to see the detailed trend graph for Ages 18-44 24.4 17.8 - 32.5
Ages 45-64Click to see the detailed trend graph for Ages 45-64 29.1 25.4 - 33.1
Ages 65 and olderClick to see the detailed trend graph for Ages 65 and older 41.0 38.4 - 43.7
By Time Since Cancer Diagnosis
Percentage of cancer survivors aged 18 years and older reporting no physical activity in their leisure time by time since cancer diagnosis, 1997-2020
Overview Graph Detailed Trend Graphs Most Recent Estimates (2020)
Percent of cancer survivors 95% Confidence Interval
Thumbnail of graph for Percentage of cancer survivors aged 18 years and older reporting no physical activity in their leisure time by time since cancer diagnosis, 1997-2020 5 years or less since diagnosisClick to see the detailed trend graph for 5 years or less since diagnosis 33.9 30.6 - 37.4
6+ years since diagnosisClick to see the detailed trend graph for 6+ years since diagnosis 35.4 32.7 - 38.2
Compared to Remaining U.S. Population
Comparison of cancer survivors and remaining U.S. population for percentage of adults aged 18 years and older reporting no physical activity in their leisure time by age, 2016-2020
Overview graph Age Group Cancer Survivor Remaining U.S. Population
Percent of population Confidence Interval Percent of population Confidence Interval
Thumbnail of graph for Comparison of cancer survivors and remaining U.S. population for percentage of adults aged 18 years and older reporting no physical activity in their leisure time by age, 2016-2020 Ages 18-44 20.6 17.2 - 24.4 21.3 20.4 - 22.2
Ages 45-64 28.5 26.5 - 30.5 27.3 26.3 - 28.2
Ages 65 and older 40.2 38.6 - 41.9 38.0 37.0 - 39.0

Meet Federal Guidelines

By Sex
Percentage of cancer survivors aged 18 years and older who meet current Federal guidelines for aerobic and muscle-strengthening physical activity by sex, 1997-2020
Overview Graph Detailed Trend Graphs Most Recent Estimates (2020)
Percent of cancer survivors 95% Confidence Interval
Thumbnail of graph for Percentage of cancer survivors aged 18 years and older who meet current Federal guidelines for aerobic and muscle-strengthening physical activity by sex, 1997-2020 Both SexesClick to see the detailed trend graph for Both Sexes 14.8 13.3 - 16.5
MaleClick to see the detailed trend graph for Male 16.5 14.1 - 19.3
FemaleClick to see the detailed trend graph for Female 13.0 11.2 - 15.0
By Age
Percentage of cancer survivors aged 18 years and older who meet current Federal guidelines for aerobic and muscle-strengthening physical activity by age, 1997-2020
Overview Graph Detailed Trend Graphs Most Recent Estimates (2020)
Percent of cancer survivors 95% Confidence Interval
Thumbnail of graph for Percentage of cancer survivors aged 18 years and older who meet current Federal guidelines for aerobic and muscle-strengthening physical activity by age, 1997-2020 Ages 18-44Click to see the detailed trend graph for Ages 18-44 27.9 20.8 - 36.3
Ages 45-64Click to see the detailed trend graph for Ages 45-64 17.3 14.6 - 20.5
Ages 65 and olderClick to see the detailed trend graph for Ages 65 and older 11.3 9.8 - 13.0
By Time Since Cancer Diagnosis
Percentage of cancer survivors aged 18 years and older who meet current Federal guidelines for aerobic and muscle-strengthening physical activity by time since cancer diagnosis, 1997-2020
Overview Graph Detailed Trend Graphs Most Recent Estimates (2020)
Percent of cancer survivors 95% Confidence Interval
Thumbnail of graph for Percentage of cancer survivors aged 18 years and older who meet current Federal guidelines for aerobic and muscle-strengthening physical activity by time since cancer diagnosis, 1997-2020 5 years or less since diagnosisClick to see the detailed trend graph for 5 years or less since diagnosis 14.3 12.0 - 17.0
6+ years since diagnosisClick to see the detailed trend graph for 6+ years since diagnosis 15.8 13.8 - 18.1
Compared to Remaining U.S. Population
Comparison of cancer survivors and remaining U.S. population for percentage of adults aged 18 years and older who meet current Federal guidelines for aerobic and muscle-strengthening physical activity by age, 2016-2020
Overview graph Age Group Cancer Survivor Remaining U.S. Population
Percent of population Confidence Interval Percent of population Confidence Interval
Thumbnail of graph for Comparison of cancer survivors and remaining U.S. population for percentage of adults aged 18 years and older who meet current Federal guidelines for aerobic and muscle-strengthening physical activity by age, 2016-2020 Ages 18-44 28.8 24.2 - 34.0 29.7 29.0 - 30.4
Ages 45-64 18.8 17.2 - 20.6 19.9 19.3 - 20.5
Ages 65 and older 12.7 11.7 - 13.7 13.1 12.5 - 13.6

Additional Information on Cancer Survivors and Physical Activity

Year Range

1997-2020

Recent Summary Trend Year Range

2016-2020

Summary Tables

Survival, Smoking, Obesity, Physical Activity

Recent Summary Trend

Falling

Desired Direction

Falling