Office of Statewide Health Improvement Initiatives
85 East Seventh Place, Suite 220, PO Box 64882
St. Paul, MN 55164-0882 651-201-5443
www.health.state.mn.us/obesity
Physical Activity in Youth
Regular physical activity can help to prevent or
manage a variety of chronic diseases and conditions
including cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis,
diabetes, hypertension, obesity, depression and
anxiety. 1 More lives are lost each year to physical
inactivity and diet than to any other factor except
tobacco use. 2
Physical activity does not need to be vigorous and
sustained to achieve health benefits. Improved health
can be attained through the accumulation of shorter
bouts of moderate-intensity activity1; however,
greater levels of activity do produce greater health.
School-based physical education is a strongly
recommended strategy for increasing physical
activity in students' lives. 3
There is no need to think of
strenuous exercise … Instead, do
the fun activities you enjoy and
watch the health benefits follow.
Minnesota Data
Percentage of students reporting being active five or
more days per week for at least 30 min/day. 4
Boys
Girls
6th Grade
9th Grade
12th Grade
42%
50%
33%
54%
63%
55%
—Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
•
Many Youth are Sedentary
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•
Nationally 50 percent of high school students
participated in any kind of physical activity that
increased their heart rate and made them breath
hard some of the time for a total of at least 60
minutes on five or more days of the past seven
days. 5
In 2011, only 32 percent of high school students
participated in daily physical education classes
compared with 42 percent of students in 1991.6
•
•
Participation in physical activity declines, as
children get older. Ninth graders, 53 percent, are
significantly more likely to be participating in
regular physical activity than twelfth graders, 45
percent.6
Boys are more physically active than girls.
Approximately 46 percent of boys and 28 percent
of girls participated in regular physical activity.6
Nationwide, 33 percent of students watch
television more than 3 hours during an average
school day. Overall, White students, 25 percent,
were less likely than Hispanic, 42 percent, or
African American students, 56 percent, to watch
television three or more hours per school day.6
Physical Activity in Youth Fact Sheet – Page 2
Factors Increasing Physical Activity in
Young People6
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•
•
•
•
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Confidence in ability to participate in physical
activities.
Belief that they are good at a physical activity
Having positive attitudes towards physical
education.
Enjoying physical activity.
Believing that there are benefits from being
physically active. These benefits include fun,
excitement, learning new skills, staying in shape,
improved appearance and increasing strength,
increasing endurance, and increasing flexibility.
Being involved in sports.
Guidelines for Promoting Physical Activity
in Youth 7
Policy: Establish policies that promote enjoyable,
lifelong physical activity among young people.
Environment: Provide physical and social
environments that encourage and enable safe and
enjoyable physical activity.
Physical education: Implement physical education
curricula and instruction that emphasize enjoyable
participation in physical activity and that help
students develop the knowledge, attitudes, motor
skills, behavioral skills, and confidence needed to
adopt and maintain physically active lifestyles.
Health education: Implement health education
curricula and instruction that help students develop
the knowledge, attitudes, behavioral skills, and
confidence needed to adopt and maintain physically
active lifestyles.
Extracurricular activities: Provide extracurricular
physical activity programs that meet the needs and
interests of all students.
Parental involvement: Include parents and
guardians in physical activity instruction and in
extracurricular and community physical activity
programs, and encourage them to support their
children’s participation in enjoyable physical
activities.
Personnel training: Assess physical activity patterns
among young people, counsel them about physical
activity, refer them to appropriate programs, and
advocate for physical activity instruction and
programs for young people.
Health services: Assess physical activity patterns
among young people, counsel them about physical
activity, refer them to appropriate programs, and
advocate for physical activity instruction and
programs for young people.
Community programs: Provide a range of
developmentally appropriate community sports and
recreation programs that are attractive to all young
people.
Evaluation: Regularly evaluate school and
community physical activity instruction, programs
and facilities.
References:
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 1996. Physical activity and health: a report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, GA, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention www.cdc.gov
2 McGinnis JM, Foege WH. 1993. Actual Causes of Death in the United States. JAMA, 18: 2207-12.
3 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Building a healthier future through school health programs.
2004www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/promising_practices/pdfs/SchoolHealth.pdf
4 2010 Minnesota Student Survey. http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/chs/mss/
5 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/YRBSS
6 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. MMWR 1997;48(RR-6): 2-6. www.cdc.gov
1
Updated July 2012
Physical Activity in Youth Fact Sheet