On this page: About the National Data | Methodology | History
About the National Data
Data
Data Source: National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), CDC/NCHS
Baseline: 29.3 percent of adults aged 18 years and over engaged in leisure time aerobic physical activity of at least moderate intensity for more than 300 minutes/week, or more than 150 minutes/week of vigorous intensity, or an equivalent combination in 2020
Target: 33.9 percent
Methodology
Adults are classified as meeting the objective if they participate in more than 300 minutes of moderate activity per week, 150 minutes of vigorous activity, or 300 minutes per week of an equivalent combination of activity during leisure time.
Total minutes per week of moderate-intensity activity are calculated by multiplying the times per week adults report participating in moderate-intensity activity by the number of minutes reported. Total minutes per week of vigorous-intensity activity are calculated by multiplying the times per week adults report participating in vigorous-intensity activity by the number of minutes reported. To calculate minutes per week for the equivalent combination of moderate and vigorous-intensity activity, minutes per week of moderate-intensity activity are added to two times the minutes per week of vigorous-intensity activity.
If responses meet the criteria for one activity (vigorous or moderate) but the status of the other activity is unknown, the record is included in the numerator and the denominator. If responses do not meet the criteria for one activity and the status of the other activity is unknown, the record is dropped from the analysis.
Note: Beginning with the NHIS re-design,"LIGHT" was dropped from the question, "How often do you do LIGHT OR MODERATE LEISURE-TIME physical activities…", in the rotating core starting in 2020 to be more consistent with the aerobic component of the physical activity guidelines.
History
- Revised.
In 2022, this objective was revised due to the 2019 NHIS redesign and 2020 survey question changes. The baseline questions changed from, "How often do you do VIGOROUS leisure-time physical activities for AT LEAST 10 MINUTES that cause HEAVY sweating or LARGE increases in breathing or heart rate? " and “How often do you do LIGHT OR MODERATE LEISURE-TIME physical activities for AT LEAST 10 MINUTES that cause ONLY LIGHT sweating or a SLIGHT to MODERATE increase in breathing or heart rate?" to "How often do you do MODERATE-INTENSITY LEISURE-TIME physical activities?" and “How often do you do VIGOROUS-INTENSITY LEISURE-TIME physical activities?"
The baseline was revised from 37.4% in 2018 to 29.3% in 2020. The target was revised from 42.3% to 33.9% using the original target setting method. - Revised.
In 2024, the following categories were recalculated with the use of a newer variable: Never married, American Indian or Alaska Native only, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander only, 2 or more races only, Not Hispanic or Latino American Indian or Alaska Native only, Not Hispanic or Latino Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander only, Not Hispanic or Latino 2 or more races only. Estimates from data year 2022 or earlier may vary slightly from estimates previously reported. The baseline, baseline year and target were not affected.
1. Effect size h=0.1 was chosen to correspond with 10% improvement from a baseline of 50%.