NIH Study Reports Drop in Physical Activity Levels as Children Get Older

July 24, 2008 - Children’s physical activity levels decrease dramatically between the ages of 9 and 15, a new study by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) shows.

The study, published in the July 16 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, reveals that on average, children at age 9 are active for approximately three hours per day on both weekdays and weekends.  By age 15, however, their physical activity levels drop to 49 minutes per day on weekdays and 35 minutes per day on weekends. 

The study analyzed data from over 1,000 children as part of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHHD) Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development.  Almost all 9-year-olds participating in the study met the recommended 60 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity on most, if not all, days of the week.  However, only 31% of 15-year-olds met the recommendations on weekdays, and only 17% on weekends.  Boys were more active than girls on all days of the week. 

The study did not investigate the causes of the drop in physical activity.  However, the authors suggest possible contributing factors may include a lack of safe biking and walking routes in many neighborhoods and more limited physical activity opportunities in schools as children get older due to elimination of recess, reduced or eliminated physical education programs, and increasingly exclusive and competitive sports programs.

Physical activity is an important component of a healthy, active lifestyle.  A number of resources are available to help parents, families, schools and health professionals improve the physical activity opportunities available to children and adolescents including:

1.      NIH’s We Can! (Ways to Enhance Children's Activity & Nutrition) - a national program to help children maintain a healthy weight.  The We Can! web site provides tips, evidence-based curricula, and other resources for families and the community to help children make better food choices, increase physical activity, and reduce screen time. 

2.      The Community Health Promotion Handbook - a joint publication of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Partnership for Prevention that includes an action guide for health professionals to work with schools to increase the amount of physical activity offered during physical education classes. 

To read the NIH study abstract, go to: http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/300/3/295 (access to the full text requires a subscription).  For more information on NIH’s We Can! Program, visit the website at: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/obesity/wecan/.  And to download The Community Health Promotion Handbook, please go to http://www.prevent.org/content/view/153/176/. 

Source: “Children’s Physical Activity Drops from Age 9 to 15, NIH Study Indicates,” NIH News Release, July 15, 2008; NIH’s We Can website; and “The Community Health Promotion Handbook,” Partnership for Prevention.