Temporal trends of no moderate to vigorous physical activity in adolescents: a 16-year trend analysis of 115,926 participants

TL;DR

This study shows that fewer US adolescents are reporting no physical activity over 16 years, but disparities remain among certain groups.

Contribution

The study provides the first year-to-year trend analysis of no moderate-to-vigorous physical activity among US adolescents.

Findings

The prevalence of no MVPA among adolescents decreased from 24.3% in 2005 to 15.5% in 2021.

Sociodemographic disparities persist, with girls, older adolescents, non-White youth, and those with higher screen time reporting no MVPA at higher rates.

Declines in no MVPA were consistent across all subgroups from 2005 to 2021.

Abstract

Engaging in no moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) has been recognized as an important indicator in physical activity (PA) surveillance, as any engagement in MVPA confers health benefits compared to none. Studying the prevalence of no MVPA can provide valuable insights into physical inactivity patterns and inform public health intervention efforts. While some cross-sectional studies have examined this issue, no research has analysed year-to-year trends. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess trends of no MVPA among adolescents and key subgroups using a nationally representative US sample.

Data from 2005 to 2021 cycles of the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System were used, with 115,926 US adolescents aged 14–17 years included (female: unweighted sample size = 58,582, 50.5%; weighted%=49.4%). Participants self-reported their demographic (sex, age, race/ethnicity, body mass index) and behavioural information (days of ≥ 60 min of MVPA over the past week, and recreational screen time). No MVPA was operationalized as reporting 0 days of ≥ 60 min of MVPA. Trend analysis was performed to assess temporal variations from 2005 to 2021 using a series of binary logistic regression models after controlling for demographic and screen time related variables.

Declining trends in no MVPA were observed among adolescents from 2005 (weighted: 24.3%) to 2021 (weighted: 15.5%). After stratifying by sex, age, race/ethnicity, body mass index and recreational screen time, similar downward trends were shown across all adolescent subgroups consistently (p for trend < 0.001). Girls, older adolescents, those who identified as non-White, adolescents with excess weight, and those engaging in more than 2 h of recreational screen time per day tended to report no MVPA at higher rates (all p < 0.001) compared to their counterparts.

No MVPA has declined among the US adolescents, especially after 2009. Notably, sociodemographic disparities were observed in no MVPA among different population subgroups. PA promotion strategies targeting girls and older adolescents should be prioritized to further reduce the prevalence of no MVPA.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12966-025-01862-0.

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