Meeting Both Physical Activity Guidelines, by Education: U.S. Adults, 2022

In 2022, 22.5 percent of U.S. adults met the federal guidelines for both muscle-strengthening and aerobic physical activity. The share rose with education, from 12.2 percent of adults who had completed high school or less to 33.6 percent of those with a bachelor's degree or higher.

Percentage of adults aged 25 and over who met the 2018 federal guidelines for both muscle-strengthening and aerobic physical activity, by educational attainment, United States, 2022, with 95 percent confidence intervals. CDC.

The guidelines

Under the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans (2nd edition, 2018, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services):

• Aerobic: at least 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity activity, or at least 75 minutes of vigorous activity, or an equivalent mix.
• Muscle-strengthening: activities on at least 2 days a week.

How it was measured

The data come from household interviews in the National Center for Health Statistics' 2022 National Health Interview Survey, a sample of the civilian, non-institutionalised U.S. population. Results are not shown where age was missing.

Sources

• Gelila Haile and Benjamin Zablotsky, "QuickStats: Percentage of Adults Aged ≥25 Years Who Met the 2018 Federal Physical Activity Guidelines for Both Muscle-Strengthening and Aerobic Physical Activity, by Educational Attainment — United States, 2022," Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, CDC. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/73/wr/mm7322a3.htm
• The benefits of physical activity: https://www.cdc.gov/physical-activity-basics/benefits/index.html