Contents
- Physical activity by age statistics: average daily activity by childhood age group
- Physical activity by age statistics: physical activity guideline attainment among Australian adults
- Physical activity by age statistics: weekly activity and strength exercise across adult ages
- Physical activity by age statistics: activity patterns at work by age
- physical activity by age: U.S. leisure-time aerobic activity by adult age
- Sources
Physical activity by age statistics: average daily activity by childhood age group
Australian children’s activity was reported in several ways in 2023: average daily duration, time by activity type, and the share reaching a daily duration threshold. These measures describe different aspects of movement, so their values should be read alongside their definitions.
Children aged 2–5 averaged 6 hours 3 minutes of physical activity per day. This age-group estimate excludes 5-year-olds attending school. For children aged 5–17, the analysis excludes 5-year-olds who were not attending school. In that older group, children aged 5–13 averaged 1 hour 33 minutes of physical activity per day, compared with 1 hour 8 minutes among children aged 14–17. The published comparison indicates more average daily activity among the younger group; it does not explain why the averages differed. Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, “Children’s physical activity, screen time and sleep”.
For ages 5–17, the Australian recommendation is at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per day. A separate duration distribution reported that 6.9% averaged 3 hours or more of physical activity a day in 2023. That is a high-duration category, not the proportion meeting the 60-minute recommendation. Source: ABS, “Children’s physical activity, screen time and sleep”.
The age-by-age table separates active transport from other moderate or vigorous activity. The latter column excludes active transport. Its averages were:
| Australian children, 2023 | Other moderate or vigorous activity (minutes per day) | Active transport (minutes per day) |
|---|---|---|
| Ages 5–8 | 89 | 16 |
| Ages 9–11 | 76 | 18 |
| Ages 12–14 | 55 | 17 |
| Ages 15–17 | 46 | 19 |
Source: ABS, “Children’s physical activity, screen time and sleep”.
In this series, average other moderate or vigorous activity was lower in each successive age band, from 89 minutes per day at ages 5–8 to 46 minutes at ages 15–17. Active transport followed a different pattern: the reported averages ranged from 16 to 19 minutes per day across these age groups. The two columns should not be conflated: one reports other moderate or vigorous activity, while the other specifically records active transport. The age bands and exclusions also matter when comparing these figures with the broader 2–5 and 5–17 averages above.
Physical activity by age statistics: physical activity guideline attainment among Australian adults
The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported adult guideline attainment for ages 18–64 in its 2022 National Health Survey. The threshold was 150–300 moderate minutes or 75–150 vigorous minutes weekly, or equivalent. By that definition, the proportion meeting the guidelines declined across the five reported age groups:
| Australian adults, 2022 | Met physical activity guidelines (%) |
|---|---|
| Ages 18–24 | 31.3% |
| Ages 25–34 | 27.2% |
| Ages 35–44 | 21.7% |
| Ages 45–54 | 17.7% |
| Ages 55–64 | 16.1% |
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, “Physical activity, 2022”.
The series shows a lower reported guideline-attainment percentage in each older age band, from 31.3% among adults aged 18–24 to 16.1% among those aged 55–64. These are proportions of each age group, not average minutes of activity. The ABS also reported separate measures of activity in the prior week; those should not be substituted for this guideline measure because they use distinct indicators.
The population covered here ends at age 64. These figures therefore do not describe Australians aged 65 and older. They are survey estimates from 2022 and should be treated as that year’s observations rather than as current-year estimates. Source: ABS, “Physical activity, 2022”.
Physical activity by age statistics: weekly activity and strength exercise across adult ages
The same 2022 ABS table presents three additional indicators for Australian adults aged 18–64: whether they did at least 150 minutes of physical activity in the week before the survey, whether they were active on five or more days in that week, and whether they did strength and toning activities on two or more days. Each indicator uses its own stated threshold and reference period. The values below keep those measures separate.
| Age group | At least 150 minutes in prior week (%) | Activity on 5 or more days (%) | Strength and toning on 2 or more days (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18–24 | 80.5% | 69.7% | 36.0% |
| 25–34 | 76.8% | 70.8% | 32.4% |
| 35–44 | 73.1% | 66.9% | 25.4% |
| 45–54 | 73.5% | 66.4% | 21.0% |
| 55–64 | 68.4% | 63.1% | 19.9% |
Source: ABS, “Physical activity, 2022”.
For the 150-minute indicator, reported proportions ranged from 68.4% among ages 55–64 to 80.5% among ages 18–24. The sequence is not uniformly lower in each successive band: 73.5% of adults aged 45–54 met the displayed threshold, compared with 73.1% of those aged 35–44. The measure counts people reaching a weekly duration threshold; it is not the same as meeting the ABS guideline, which also accommodates vigorous activity or an equivalent combination.
For activity on five or more days, the highest reported proportion in this series was 70.8% among ages 25–34, while the lowest was 63.1% among ages 55–64. The 18–24 group registered 69.7%, and the 35–44 and 45–54 groups registered 66.9% and 66.4%, respectively. This indicator describes frequency across days, not total minutes.
Strength and toning on two or more days was reported by 36.0% of adults aged 18–24 and 19.9% of those aged 55–64. The intervening groups were 32.4% for ages 25–34, 25.4% for ages 35–44, and 21.0% for ages 45–54. This measure concerns strength and toning activity specifically; it is not a count of all physical activity. All three indicators refer to the week before the survey, while the guideline-attainment measure above is separately defined. Source: ABS, “Physical activity, 2022”.
Physical activity by age statistics: activity patterns at work by age
The ABS also asked employed adults who had worked in the week before interview to describe activity on a typical workday in the last week. Among Australian respondents aged 18–64, the reported share who described their usual workday as mostly sitting was:
| Age group | Mostly sitting on a usual workday (%) |
|---|---|
| 18–24 | 22.8% |
| 25–34 | 45.5% |
| 35–44 | 54.4% |
| 45–54 | 52.9% |
| 55–64 | 50.6% |
Source: ABS, “Physical activity, 2022”.
The reported share rose from 22.8% for ages 18–24 to 54.4% for ages 35–44, then was 52.9% for ages 45–54 and 50.6% for ages 55–64. These values describe the workday category selected by employed adults who had worked during the reference week. They are not estimates for all adults, and they do not measure activity outside work or the number of hours spent sitting. The age pattern is descriptive; the table does not establish why the proportions differed. Source: ABS, “Physical activity, 2022”.
physical activity by age: U.S. leisure-time aerobic activity by adult age
A U.S. National Center for Health Statistics analysis of the 2024 National Health Interview Survey reported the proportion of civilian, noninstitutionalized adults who met federal guidelines for aerobic physical activity during leisure time. The age groups and estimates were:
| U.S. adults, 2024 | Met leisure-time aerobic guidelines (%) | 95% confidence interval |
|---|---|---|
| Ages 18–34 | 54.0% | 52.5–55.6 |
| Ages 35–49 | 49.8% | 48.3–51.3 |
| Ages 50–64 | 44.6% | 43.1–46.0 |
| Ages 65 and older | 38.4% | 37.1–39.7 |
In this U.S. series, the reported proportion meeting the leisure-time aerobic guideline was 54.0% among adults aged 18–34 and 38.4% among adults aged 65 and older, with intermediate estimates of 49.8% for ages 35–49 and 44.6% for ages 50–64. Each estimate is accompanied by its published 95% confidence interval, shown in the table. The measure is specifically about aerobic activity during leisure time among the civilian, noninstitutionalized population. It does not cover all activity at work or in transport.
The U.S. and Australian figures use different survey years, populations, age bands, and activity definitions. In particular, the U.S. estimates are for leisure-time aerobic guideline attainment, while the Australian adult measures above include a broader set of distinct indicators. Read each within its own scope rather than treating the percentages as directly comparable across countries. Source: NCHS, “Aerobic Physical Activity Among Adults Age 18 and Older: United States, 2024”.