Physical Activity

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In 2020, 26.1% of adults reported no physical activity in their leisure time.

Summary graph for Physical Activity, Click to see detailed view of graph

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Background

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle has the potential to reduce both cancer- and non-cancer-related morbidity. In particular, physical activity may reduce the risk of several types of cancer, including bladder, breast, colon, endometrium (lining of the uterus), esophagus (adenocarcinoma), kidney, and stomach.  Physical activity may lower a person’s risk of  health problems such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and osteoporosis (bone thinning). Being active may help to prevent weight gain and obesity, which can reduce the risk of developing cancers that have been linked to excess body weight.

Physical activity also improves the quality of life among cancer patients and survivors. For people with colorectal cancer, women with breast cancer, and men with prostate cancer, greater amounts of physical activity are associated with reduced risk of mortality from the original type of cancer. For people with colorectal cancer and women with breast cancer, greater amounts of physical activity are also associated with reduced risk of all-cause mortality. 

Several national groups offer recommendations for engaging in regular physical activity. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends that adults get at least 2.5 hours of moderate-intensity or 1 hour and 15 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity each week. Adults should also do muscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week.

Measure

Percentage of adults aged 18 years and older who reported no leisure-time physical activity during the past month and percentage of adults who meet both the aerobic and muscle-strengthening guidelines.

Healthy People 2030 Target

  • Reduce the percentage of adults who engage in no leisure-time physical activity to 21.2 percent.
  • 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 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 1992–2020.

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 adults 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 adults 95% Confidence Interval
Thumbnail of graph for Percentage of adults 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 26.1 25.1 - 27.0
MaleClick to see the detailed trend graph for Male 24.4 23.3 - 25.5
FemaleClick to see the detailed trend graph for Female 27.6 26.5 - 28.8
By Race/Ethnicity
Percentage of adults aged 18 years and older reporting no physical activity in their leisure time by race/ethnicity, 1997-2020
Overview Graph Detailed Trend Graphs Most Recent Estimates (2020)
Percent of adults 95% Confidence Interval
Thumbnail of graph for Percentage of adults aged 18 years and older reporting no physical activity in their leisure time by race/ethnicity, 1997-2020 All Races/EthnicitiesClick to see the detailed trend graph for All Races 26.1 25.1 - 27.0
Non-Hispanic WhiteClick to see the detailed trend graph for Non-Hispanic White 22.8 21.8 - 23.8
Non-Hispanic BlackClick to see the detailed trend graph for Non-Hispanic Black 32.0 29.5 - 34.6
HispanicClick to see the detailed trend graph for Hispanic 34.4 31.9 - 36.9
By Poverty Income Level
Percentage of adults aged 18 years and older reporting no physical activity in their leisure time by poverty income level, 1997-2020
Overview Graph Detailed Trend Graphs Most Recent Estimates (2020)
Percent of adults 95% Confidence Interval
Thumbnail of graph for Percentage of adults aged 18 years and older reporting no physical activity in their leisure time by poverty income level, 1997-2020 <200% of federal poverty levelClick to see the detailed trend graph for <200% of federal poverty level 40.2 38.3 - 42.0
>=200% of federal poverty levelClick to see the detailed trend graph for >=200% of federal poverty level 20.7 19.9 - 21.6
By Education Level
Percentage of adults aged 25 years and older reporting no physical activity in their leisure time by highest level of education obtained, 1997-2020
Overview Graph Detailed Trend Graphs Most Recent Estimates (2020)
Percent of adults 95% Confidence Interval
Thumbnail of graph for Percentage of adults aged 25 years and older reporting no physical activity in their leisure time by highest level of education obtained, 1997-2020 Less than High SchoolClick to see the detailed trend graph for Less than High School 48.4 45.2 - 51.7
High SchoolClick to see the detailed trend graph for High School 35.0 33.3 - 36.7
Greater than High SchoolClick to see the detailed trend graph for Greater than High School 19.6 18.7 - 20.4

Meet Federal Guidelines

By Sex
Percentage of adults 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 adults 95% Confidence Interval
Thumbnail of graph for Percentage of adults 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 25.2 24.5 - 26.0
MaleClick to see the detailed trend graph for Male 29.0 28.0 - 30.2
FemaleClick to see the detailed trend graph for Female 21.5 20.6 - 22.5
By Race/Ethnicity
Percentage of adults aged 18 years and older who meet current Federal guidelines for aerobic and muscle-strengthening physical activity by race/ethnicity, 1997-2020
Overview Graph Detailed Trend Graphs Most Recent Estimates (2020)
Percent of adults 95% Confidence Interval
Thumbnail of graph for Percentage of adults aged 18 years and older who meet current Federal guidelines for aerobic and muscle-strengthening physical activity by race/ethnicity, 1997-2020 All Races/EthnicitiesClick to see the detailed trend graph for All Races 25.2 24.5 - 26.0
Non-Hispanic WhiteClick to see the detailed trend graph for Non-Hispanic White 27.3 26.4 - 28.3
Non-Hispanic BlackClick to see the detailed trend graph for Non-Hispanic Black 22.3 20.4 - 24.3
HispanicClick to see the detailed trend graph for Hispanic 20.7 19.0 - 22.6
By Poverty Income Level
Percentage of adults aged 18 years and older who meet current Federal guidelines for aerobic and muscle-strengthening physical activity by poverty income level, 1997-2020
Overview Graph Detailed Trend Graphs Most Recent Estimates (2020)
Percent of adults 95% Confidence Interval
Thumbnail of graph for Percentage of adults aged 18 years and older who meet current Federal guidelines for aerobic and muscle-strengthening physical activity by poverty income level, 1997-2020 <200% of federal poverty levelClick to see the detailed trend graph for <200% of federal poverty level 14.7 13.6 - 16.0
>=200% of federal poverty levelClick to see the detailed trend graph for >=200% of federal poverty level 29.2 28.3 - 30.1
By Education Level
Percentage of adults aged 25 years and older who meet current Federal guidelines for aerobic and muscle-strengthening physical activity by highest level of education obtained, 1997-2020
Overview Graph Detailed Trend Graphs Most Recent Estimates (2020)
Percent of adults 95% Confidence Interval
Thumbnail of graph for Percentage of adults aged 25 years and older who meet current Federal guidelines for aerobic and muscle-strengthening physical activity by highest level of education obtained, 1997-2020 Less than High SchoolClick to see the detailed trend graph for Less than High School 9.6 7.9 - 11.7
High SchoolClick to see the detailed trend graph for High School 16.3 15.1 - 17.5
Greater than High SchoolClick to see the detailed trend graph for Greater than High School 28.8 27.9 - 29.7

Additional Information on Physical Activity

Year Range

1997-2020

Recent Summary Trend Year Range

2016-2020

Summary Tables

Weight and Physical Activity

Recent Summary Trend

Falling

Desired Direction

Falling