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

Summary

In 2024, 47.2% of adults age 18 and older met the federal guidelines for aerobic physical activity. Men were more likely than women to meet the aerobic physical activity guidelines, and prevalence decreased with increasing age. White and Asian adults were more likely than Hispanic and Black adults to meet the federal guidelines for aerobic physical activity. The prevalence of meeting the guidelines was lower among those with incomes less than 100% FPL and those with incomes at 100% to less than 200% FPL, and then increased with increasing income. The prevalence of meeting the guidelines for aerobic physical activity increased with increasing education level. The percentage of adults who met the guidelines for aerobic physical activity was highest among those living in the West and decreased with decreasing urbanization level. The percentage of adults who met physical activity guidelines was higher among those without disabilities compared with those with disabilities; those with healthy weight compared with those who were underweight, overweight, or had obesity; and with those reporting excellent or very good health compared with those reporting good, fair, or poor health.

Aerobic physical activity is recognized for its health benefits in the Healthy People 2030 initiative, with an objective to "increase the proportion of adults who do enough aerobic physical activity for substantial health benefits" (PA-02) (4).

Definitions

Body mass index (BMI): Based on respondent-reported height and weight and calculated using the formula: weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared (kg/m²). BMI categories are: underweight (less than 18.5), healthy weight (18.5 to less than 25.0), overweight (25.0 to less than 30.0), and obesity (30.0 or more) (5).

Disability status: Categorized by the level of difficulty reported in the Washington Group Short Set on Functioning (6). The six domains of functioning include: seeing (even if wearing glasses), hearing (even if wearing hearing aids), mobility (walking or climbing stairs), communication (understanding or being understood by others), cognition (remembering or concentrating), and self-care (such as washing all over or dressing). Adults who respond "a lot of difficulty" or "cannot do at all/unable to do" to at least one domain are considered to have disabilities.

Education level: Categorized into four groups: 1) less than high school diploma or GED, 2) high school diploma or GED, 3) associate's degree or some college, and 4) bachelor's degree or higher.

Family income as a percentage of federal poverty level (FPL): Based on FPL, which was calculated from the family's income in the previous calendar year and family size using the U.S. Census Bureau's poverty thresholds (7). Family income was imputed when missing (8).

Met guidelines for aerobic physical activity: Calculated as "sufficiently active" based on responses to survey questions about aerobic physical activity during leisure time. Aerobic physical activity guidelines for adults recommend at least 150 minutes (2 hours 30 minutes) to 300 minutes (5 hours) a week of moderate-intensity, 75 minutes (1 hour 15 minutes) to 150 minutes a week of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity, or an equivalent combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity aerobic activity as outlined in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd edition (2). Respondents were asked about the frequency of moderate- and vigorous-intensity physical activity. The responses were combined and recoded to form three categories of meeting federal guidelines for aerobic physical activity: inactive, insufficiently active, and sufficiently active. "Inactive" includes respondents who engage in no activity beyond their daily living tasks. "Insufficiently active" includes respondents who participate in some physical activity but do not meet the guidelines for at least 150 minutes per week of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity. "Sufficiently active" includes respondents who met only the aerobic guidelines and also those who met the combined guidelines for aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities.

Race and Hispanic origin: Adults categorized as Hispanic may be of any race or combination of races. Non-Hispanic adults categorized as Asian, Black, or White indicated one race only. Estimates for non-Hispanic adults of races other than Asian, Black, and White are not shown, but they are included in total estimates.

Region: Areas recognized by the U.S. Census Bureau:

• Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont
• Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin
• South: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia
• West: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

Respondent-assessed health status: Survey respondents were asked, "Would you say your health in general is excellent, very good, good, fair, or poor?" Responses were coded as the respondents being in (a) excellent or very good health if they responded "excellent" or "very good," in (b) good health if they responded "good," or in (c) fair or poor health if they responded "fair" or "poor."

Urbanization level: Counties were classified according to their metropolitan status using the National Center for Health Statistics Urban-Rural Classification Scheme (9). Urban counties include large central counties, the fringes of large counties, and medium and small counties. Rural counties (nonmetropolitan) include micropolitan statistical areas and noncore areas.

Data source and methods

Data from the 2024 NHIS were used for this analysis. NHIS is a nationally representative household survey of the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population. It is conducted continuously throughout the year by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). Interviews are typically initiated face-to-face in respondents' homes with follow-ups conducted over the telephone as needed (10). For more information about NHIS, visit https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis.htm.

Point estimates and corresponding variances for this analysis were calculated using SAS-callable SUDAAN software (11) to account for the complex sample design of NHIS. All estimates are based on self-report and meet NCHS data presentation standards for proportions (12). Differences between percentages were evaluated using two-sided significance tests at the 0.05 level. Terms such as "more likely," "less likely," "higher than," and "lower than" indicate a statistically significant difference. Linear and quadratic trends by age group, family income, education, and urbanization level were evaluated using orthogonal polynomials in logistic regression.

About the authors

Nazik Elgaddal and Ellen A. Kramarow are with the National Center for Health Statistics, Division of Analysis and Epidemiology.

References

1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Benefits of physical activity. 2024. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/physical-activity-basics/benefits.
2. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Physical activity guidelines for Americans. 2nd ed. 2018. Available from: https://odphp.health.gov/sites/default/files/2019-09/Physical_Activity_Guidelines_2nd_edition.pdf .
3. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee scientific report. 2018. Available from: https://odphp.health.gov/sites/default/files/2019-09/PAG_Advisory_Committee_Report.pdf .
4. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Healthy People 2030: Physical activity. Available from: https://odphp.health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/physical-activity/increase-proportion-adults-who-do-enough-aerobic-physical-activity-substantial-health-benefits-pa-02 .
5. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. BMI: Adult BMI categories. 2024. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/bmi/adult-calculator/bmi-categories.html.
6. Washington Group on Disability Statistics. WG Short Set on Functioning (WG-SS). 2022. Available from: https://www.washingtongroup-disability.com/question-sets/wg-short-set-on-functioning-wg-ss/ .
7. U.S. Census Bureau. Poverty thresholds. 2024. Available from: https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/income-poverty/historical-poverty-thresholds.html .
8. National Center for Health Statistics. Multiple imputation of family income in 2024 National Health Interview Survey: Methods. 2025. Available from: https://ftp.cdc.gov/pub/Health_Statistics/NCHS/Dataset_Documentation/NHIS/2024/NHIS2024-imputation-techdoc-508.pdf .
9. National Center for Health Statistics. NCHS urban-rural classification scheme for counties. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data-analysis-tools/urban-rural.html.
10. National Center for Health Statistics. National Health Interview Survey, 2024 survey description. 2025. Available from: https://ftp.cdc.gov/pub/Health_Statistics/NCHS/Dataset_Documentation/NHIS/2024/srvydesc-508.pdf .
11. RTI International. SUDAAN (Release 11.0.3) [computer software]. 2018.
12. Parker JD, Talih M, Malec DJ, Beresovsky V, Carroll M, Gonzalez JF Jr, et al. National Center for Health Statistics data presentation standards for proportions. Vital Health Stat 2 2017 Aug;(175):1-22.

Suggested citation

Elgaddal N, Kramarow EA. Aerobic physical activity among adults age 18 and older: United States, 2024. NCHS Data Brief. 2026 Apr;(555):1-13. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.15620/cdc/174653 .

Copyright information

All material appearing in this report is in the public domain and may be reproduced or copied without permission; citation as to source, however, is appreciated.

National Center for Health Statistics

Carolyn M. Greene, M.D., Acting Director
Amy M. Branum, Ph.D., Associate Director for Science

Division of Analysis and Epidemiology

Irma E. Arispe, Ph.D., Director
Kimberly A. Lochner, Sc.D., Associate Director for Science