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Results from the 2005 Youth Risk Behavior Survey
show that 35.8 percent of high school students met the currently
recommended levels of physical activity and 68.7 percent of students
met the previously recommended standard for physical activity in
the previous week. Current physical activity standards for this
age group recommend 60 minutes of physical activity five days per
week; previous standards recommended at least 20 minutes of vigorous
activity or 30 minutes of moderate activity five days per week.
Only 9.6 percent of students did not engage in any vigorous or moderate
physical activity.
Nationwide, 54.2 percent of high school students
were enrolled in a physical education class on one or more days
a week, although the percentage is far higher in the younger grades
(71.5 percent of 9th graders) than in the older grades (38.8 percent
of 12th graders). The percentage of students attending daily physical
education classes has dropped from 42 percent in 1991 to 33.0 percent
in 2005. Among those students who attended physical education classes,
84.0 percent reported exercising or playing sports for more than
20 minutes during an average class.
In 2005, a total of 56.0 percent of high school
students reported playing on one or more sports teams in the past
year. This was more common among children in younger grades (60.4
percent of 9th graders) than in the older grades (49.2 percent of
12th graders). High school students also reported sedentary activities,
such as using a computer or watching television. Over one-fifth
(21.1 percent) of students reported using a computer (for something
other than school work) for 3 or more hours per day on an average
school day, while 37.2 percent of students reported watching television
for 3 or more hours on an average school day.
The HealthierUS Initiative—available
online at www.healthierus.gov—provides
credible, accurate information about physical fitness, nutrition,
and prevention to help Americans of all ages to make healthy
decisions.
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Bar Chart: Physical Activity Among High School students,
by Race/Ethnicity: 2005
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