Aerobic Physical Activity Among Adults Age 18 and Older: United States, 2024

This report uses 2024 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data to describe the percentage of adults who met federal aerobic physical activity guidelines for Americans during leisure time, by selected sociodemographic characteristics.

Data from the 2024 NHIS were used for this analysis. Point estimates and corresponding variances for this analysis were calculated using SAS-callable SUDAAN software to account for the complex sample design of NHIS. Differences between percentages were evaluated using two-sided significance tests at the 0.05 level. Linear and quadratic trends by age group, family income, education, and urbanization level were evaluated using orthogonal polynomials in logistic regression.

In 2024, 47.2% of adults age 18 and older met the federal guidelines for aerobic physical activity, with men more likely to meet the federal guidelines for aerobic physical activity (52.3%) than women (42.4%). Among adults, the prevalence of meeting the federal guidelines for aerobic physical activity increased with increasing level of education. Adults living in the West were more likely to meet the federal guidelines for aerobic physical activity compared with those living in other regions. Aerobic physical activity was higher among adults without disabilities (49.8%), those with healthy weight (54.8%), and those with excellent or very good health (57.8%).