Spotlight on Statistics

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May 2008

Sports and Exercise

Percent of people aged 15 years and older who engaged in sports or exercise activities on an average day, by region, 2003-06
Region	Percent
Total, all regions	16
Pacific (Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington)	20
New England (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont)	18
Mountain (Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming)	18
Mid-Atlantic (Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York)	16
West North Central (Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Nebraska, South Dakota)	16
East North Central (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin)	16
South Atlantic (Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia)	15
West South Central (Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas)	13
East South Central (Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky, Tennessee)	13

Percent of people aged 25 years and older who engaged in sports and exercise activities on an average day, by educational attainment, 2003-06
Educational attainment	Percent
Less than a high school diploma	10
High school graduates, no college	11
Some college or associate degree	14
Bachelor's degree and higher	23

Percent of people aged 15 years and older who engaged in sports or exercise activities on an average day, by specific activity, 2003-06
Sports and exercise activities	Percent
Walking	30.0
Weightlifting	13.1
Using cardiovascular equipment	12.7
Swimming, surfing, water skiing	8.4
Running	7.1
Basketball	5.1
Golfing	4.1
Cycling	3.2
Aerobics	3.1
Bowling	2.0
Racquet sports	1.6
Football	1.5
Baseball, softball	1.4
Dancing	1.4
Yoga	1.3
Soccer	1.2
Hiking	0.8
Volleyball	0.8
Martial arts	0.7
Equestrian sports	0.6
Rollerblading	0.6
Skiing, ice skating, snowboarding	0.6
Gymnastics	0.1
Hockey	0.1
Wrestling	0.1

Percent distribution by sex of people aged 15 years and older who engaged in sports or exercise activities on an average day, by activity, 2003-06
Sports and exercise activities	Percent of participants in each sport
Sports and exercise activities	Men	Women
Football	96	4
Basketball	86	14
Golfing	82	18
Soccer	80	20
Baseball, softball	72	28
Racquet sports	69	31
Cycling	66	34
Weightlifting	64	36
Running	58	42
Hiking	56	44
Bowling	54	46
Swimming, surfing, water skiing	47	53
Using cardiovascular equipment	44	56
Dancing	44	56
Walking	43	57
Yoga	20	80
Aerobics	17	83

Percent distribution by age of people aged 15 years and older who engaged in sports or exercise activities on an average day, by activity, 2003-06
Sports and exercise activities	Percent of participants in each sport (1)
Sports and exercise activities	Aged 15-24	25-54	55 and older
Aerobics	12	59	29
Baseball, softball	63	32	5
Basketball	84	14	1
Bowling	38	46	16
Cycling	16	59	25
Dancing	49	23	28
Football	84	16	0
Golfing	20	42	39
Hiking	30	51	19
Racquet sports	29	44	26
Running	31	60	8
Soccer	66	34	0
Swimming, surfing, water skiing	29	49	22
Using cardiovascular equipment	11	60	29
Walking	7	45	48
Weightlifting	28	57	15
Yoga	6	71	23
Note: (1) Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding.

Percent distribution of people aged 15 years and older who engaged in sports or exercise activities on an average day, by sex and the presence of others, 2003-06
Presence of others	Percent of total sports participants (1)
Presence of others	Total	Men	Women
Alone	52	52	52
Family	26	24	29
Friends, neighbors, acquaintances	19	20	17
Co-workers	3	3	3
Note: (1) The percentages do not sum to 100 because some persons participated in the activity with various combinations of family, friends, and co-workers present; others participated in multiple episodes of sports and exercise activities.

Percent distribution by length of time spent exercising of people aged 15 years and older who engaged in sports or exercise activities on an average day, 2003-06
Average hours per day persons who engaged in sports and exercises spent engaged in them	Percent
less than 30 minutes	10
30 to 59 minutes	29
1 hour to 1 hour 29 minutes	25
1 hour 30 minutes to 1 hour 59 minutes	11
2 hours to 3 hours 59 minutes	19
4 or more hours	6

Amount of time that people aged 15 years and older who engaged in sports or exercise activities on an average day spent engaged in that activity, 2003-06
Sports and exercise activities	Average hours per day for persons who did the activity
All sports and exercise activities	1.5
Golfing	3.3
Hiking	2.6
Football	2.5
Bowling	2.5
Baseball, softball	2.4
Dancing	2.3
Soccer	2.1
Basketball	2.0
Racquet sports	1.9
Swimming, surfing, water skiing	1.7
Cycling	1.2
Yoga	0.9
Walking	0.9
Weightlifting	0.9
Running	0.9
Aerobics	0.8
Using cardiovascular equipment	0.7

Percent of employed people aged 25 to 54 years who engaged in sports and exercise activities on an average day, by hour of day when exercising, workdays and non-workdays, 2003-06
Hour of day	Percent (1)
Hour of day	Workdays	Non-workdays
12:00 Midnight	1	2
1:00 AM	0	1
2:00 AM	0	1
3:00 AM	0	1
4:00 AM	2	1
5:00 AM	10	2
6:00 AM	13	5
7:00 AM	9	13
8:00 AM	7	19
9:00 AM	6	22
10:00 AM	7	23
11:00 AM	8	22
12:00 Noon	8	20
1:00 PM	6	21
2:00 PM	7	19
3:00 PM	9	19
4:00 PM	14	16
5:00 PM	20	15
6:00 PM	23	14
7:00 PM	20	12
8:00 PM	15	11
9:00 PM	9	6
10:00 PM	4	3
11:00 PM	2	2
Note: (1) The percentages associated with each time refer to the hour that starts at that time. For example, the percentages associated with 1:00 AM cover the interval from 1:00 AM to 1:59 AM.