Measuring High School Students' Physical Activity

The US youth physical activity guideline recommends participation in four types of physical activity. An analysis of 10,596 US high school students found that: 15.2% met the guideline for moderate-to-vigorous intensity aerobic activity. 50.7% met the muscle-strengthening guidelines. 70.6% met the vigorous-intensity aerobic guidelines. 80.7% met the bone-strengthening guidelines. In total, 11.2% of the students met all four components. The authors concluded that, “incorporating additional measures of vigorous-intensity and bone-strengthening activities into current surveillance systems may not meaningfully impact national estimates of meeting the youth physical activity guideline.” Surveillance of meeting the youth physical activity guideline: Impact of including vigorous-intensity and bone-strengthening activities.