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New report: Physical activity levels remain low for American children and youth

SoK faculty member and report co-author Rebecca Hasson says the findings highlight the “urgent need for equitable opportunities in physical activity.”
Two children sit on the floor with video game controllers.

The Physical Activity Alliance, the largest U.S. coalition dedicated to advancing regular participation in physical activity, recently gave the country an overall grade of a D- in its 2024 report card on physical activity for children and youth. This was the same grade the organization issued in 2022, the last time its team produced the report.


Using data from the National Survey of Children’s Health and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted by the the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the authors reported that:

  • No more than 28% of 6- to 17-year-olds meet the recommended 60 minutes of daily physical activity
  • Non-Hispanic white children meet the daily physical activity recommendation at the highest rate
  • Non-Hispanic Black children and Hispanic children have lower rates of physical activity and sports participation, with Black children at the highest rate of sedentary behavior and lowest number of hours asleep compared to other demographic groups
  • Non-Hispanic Asian children have lower rates of sedentary behavior and better sleep patterns but are also less physically active and less likely to participate in sports


Sedentary behavior can increase the risk for chronic conditions such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, and certain forms of cancer, and American youth are seeing that play out: As of 2021, more than 40% of school-age children and adolescents had at least one chronic health condition, according to the CDC, and a 2022 JAMA Pediatrics report found that nearly one in three adolescents met the criteria for prediabetes.


“The stark disparities highlighted in the 2024 U.S. youth physical activity report card underscore the urgent need for equitable opportunities in physical activity,” says Rebecca Hasson, associate movement science professor at the U-M School of Kinesiology and author of the report card’s Health Equity section. “By addressing these inequities, we can empower all children — regardless of their racial or ethnic backgrounds — to thrive physically and mentally, paving the way for healthier futures."


Read the full report.