Primary Navigation for the CDC Website
CDC en EspaƱol

 U.S. Physical Activity Statistics
Email Icon Email this page
Printer Friendly Icon Printer-friendly version

Definitions

Recommended physical activity — reported moderate-intensity activities in a usual week (i.e., brisk walking, bicycling, vacuuming, gardening, or anything else that causes small increases in breathing or heart rate) for greater than or equal to 30 minutes per day, greater than or equal to 5 days per week; or vigorous-intensity activities in a usual week (i.e., running, aerobics, heavy yard work, or anything else that causes large increases in breathing or heart rate) for greater than or equal to 20 minutes per day, greater than or equal to 3 days per week or both. This can be accomplished through lifestyle activities (i.e., household, transportation, or leisure-time activities).

Insufficient physical activity —  doing more than 10 minutes total per week of moderate or vigorous-intensity lifestyle activities (i.e., household, transportation, or leisure-time activity), but less than the recommended level of activity.

Inactivity — less than 10 minutes total per week of moderate or vigorous-intensity lifestyle activities (i.e., household, transportation, or leisure-time activity).

Leisure-time inactivity — no reported leisure-time physical activities (i.e., any physical activities or exercises such as running, calisthenics, golf, gardening, or walking) in the previous month.

95% CI = Confidence Interval

Cell Suppression — estimates are considered statistically unreliable and are suppressed if the denominator is based on fewer than 50 sample cases. For more information, see the BRFSS documentation.

back to top


PDF Document Icon Please note: Some of these publications are available for download only as *.pdf files. These files require Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to be viewed. Please review the information on downloading and using Acrobat Reader software.

* Links to non-Federal organizations found at this site are provided solely as a service to our users. These links do not constitute an endorsement of these organizations or their programs by CDC or the Federal Government, and none should be inferred. CDC is not responsible for the content of the individual organization Web pages found at these links.

Page last reviewed: May 22, 2007
Page last updated: May 22, 2007
Content Source: Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion