Physical Activity Facts

• Regular physical activity in childhood and adolescence improves strength and endurance, helps build healthy bones and muscles, helps control weight, reduces anxiety and stress, increases self-esteem, and may improve blood pressure and cholesterol levels.¹
• The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends that young people aged 6–17 years participate in at least 60 minutes of physical activity daily.²
• In 2013, 27.1% of high school students surveyed had participated in at least 60 minutes per day of physical activity on all 7 days before the survey, and only 29% attended physical education class daily.³
• Schools can promote physical activity through comprehensive school physical activity programs, including recess, classroom-based physical activity, intramural physical activity clubs, interscholastic sports, and physical education.
• Schools should ensure that physical education is provided to all students in all grades and is taught by qualified teachers.
• Schools can also work with community organizations to provide out-of-school-time physical activity programs and share physical activity facilities.

Physical Activity and the Health of Young People

Benefits of Regular Physical Activity

Regular physical activity—

• Helps build and maintain healthy bones and muscles.¹
• Helps reduce the risk of developing obesity and chronic diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and colon cancer.¹
• Reduces feelings of depression and anxiety and promotes psychological well-being.¹
• May help improve students’ academic performance, including
  • Academic achievement and grades
  • Academic behavior, such as time on task
  • Factors that influence academic achievement, such as concentration and attentiveness in the classroom.⁴

Long-Term Consequences of Physical Inactivity

• Overweight and obesity, which are influenced by physical inactivity and poor diet, can increase one’s risk for diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, asthma, arthritis, and poor health status.^5-7
• Physical inactivity increases one’s risk for dying prematurely, dying of heart disease, and developing diabetes, colon cancer, and high blood pressure.¹

Participation in Physical Activity by Young People

• In a nationally representative survey, 77% of children aged 9–13 years reported participating in free-time physical activity during the previous 7 days.⁴
• In 2013, only 29% percent of high school students had participated in at least 60 minutes per day of physical activity on each of the 7 days before the survey.³
• 15.2% percent of high school students had not participated in 60 or more minutes of any kind of physical activity on any day during the 7 days before the survey.³
• Participation in physical activity declines as young people age.³
  

Percentage of High School Students Participating in Physical Activity and Physical Education, by Sex, 2013³

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^aAny kind of physical activity that increased heart rate and made them breathe hard some of the time for at least 60 minutes per day on each of the 7 days before the survey.

^bAttended physical education classes 5 days in an average week when they were in school.

Participation in Physical Education Classes

• In 2013, less than half (48%) of high school students (64% of 9th-grade students but only 35% of 12th-grade students) attended physical education classes in an average week.³
• The percentage of high school students who attended physical education classes daily decreased from 42% in 1991 to 25% in 1995 and remained stable at that level until 2013 (29%).³
• In 2013, 42% of 9th-grade students but only 20% of 12th-grade students attended physical education class daily.³

Key Resources

• Monitoring Student Fitness Levels[PDF - 1.52 MB]
• Comprehensive School Physical Activity Programs: A Guide for Schools
• School Health Guidelines to Promote Healthy Eating and Physical Activity
• Physical Education Curriculum Analysis Tool
• Youth Physical Activity Guidelines Toolkit
• The Association Between School-Based Physical Activity, Physical Education, and Academic Performance[PDF - 2.5 KB] (Full report) Executive Summary[PDF - 309 KB]
  

References

1. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee report. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2008.
2. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; 2008.
3. CDC. Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance—United States, 2013. MMWR 2014;63(SS-4).
4. CDC. The Association Between School-Based Physical Activity, Including Physical Education, and Academic Performance. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; 2010.
5. Daniels S, Arnett D, Eckel R, et al. Overweight in children and adolescents: pathophysiology, consequences, prevention, and treatment. Circulation 2005;111:1999–2012.
6. Institute of Medicine. Preventing Childhood Obesity: Health in the Balance. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press; 2004.
7. Dietz WH. Overweight in childhood and adolescence. New England Journal of Medicine 2004;350:855–857.
8. CDC. Physical activity levels among children aged 9–13 years—United States, 2002. MMWR 2003;52(SS-33):785–788.

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