Only 5.07% of Americans say they engage in vigorous physical activity on any given 24-hour period, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. In fact, one quarter of respondents mentioned preparing food and drink as their moderate physical activity. In this report, non-work (physical) activities were classed as either sedentary, light, moderate, or vigorous.

In order to find out what the most commonly reported non-work and non-sleep activities were according to intensity, reported by American adults, investigators from the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, analyzed data gathered between 2003 and 2008 from nearly 80,000 respondents to ATUS (American Time Use Survey).

ATUS was a telephone-based survey, said to represent national behavior. People were telephoned and asked what they were doing during the previous 24 hours while they were not working or sleeping. This information was coupled with published MET (Metabolic Equivalent) intensity values, and then classified into the following groups (categories):

  • Sedentary activity
  • Light activity
  • Moderate activity
  • Vigorous activity

The findings revealed that, in any given 24-hour period:

  • 95.6% of U.S. adults engage in sedentary activities. Eating and drinking are classed as such.
  • 80.1% engage in watching television or movies. Also classed as sedentary.
  • 78.9% of American adults engage in light activities, such as dressing, grooming and washing themselves
  • 71.4% engage in driving a vehicle
  • The majority of respondents did not engage in moderate or vigorous activities.

The following were the most commonly reported moderate activities:

  • Preparing food and drink – 25.7%
  • Gardening and taking care of houseplants 10.6%

The following were the most commonly reported vigorous activities:

  • Using cardiovascular equipment – 2.2%
  • Running – 1.1%

Catrine Tudor-Locke, team leader, PhD, Director of the Walking Behavior Laboratory, Pennington Biomedical Research Center:

Knowing the most-frequently reported intensity-defined behaviors can inform intervention strategies aimed at improving energy balance or enhance questionnaire design by targeting queries related to time spent in such behaviors. As a single more-detailed example of utility, data can be collected using objective monitors under controlled conditions on these most-frequently reported sedentary behaviors and provide valuable calibration data useful for identifying and tracking sedentary behaviors in objectively monitored surveillance and intervention studies.

The authors concluded:

On any given day, most U.S. adults reported performing predominantly sedentary and light activities. The greatest prevalence for reported moderate activities was food and drink preparation for both men (12.8%) and women (37.63%), and overall only 5.07% report any vigorous-intensity activity.

According to the Washington State Department of Health:

Vigorous-intensity physical activity is more challenging and involves rhythmic, repetitive physical activities that use large muscle groups at 70 percent or more of maximum heart rate (rate varies by age). Examples of vigorous physical activities include jogging/running, lap swimming, bicycling, aerobic dancing, skating, rowing, jumping rope, cross-country skiing, hiking/backpacking, racquet sports, and competitive group sports (soccer, basketball, etc.).

Frequently Reported Activities by Intensity for U.S. Adults – The American Time Use Survey
Catrine Tudor-Locke, PhD, William D. Johnson, PhD, Peter T. Katzmarzyk, PhD
American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Volume 39, Issue 4 , Pages e13-e20, October 2010

Written by Christian Nordqvist