Physical Activity

Performance Measure 8

Goal

To increase the number of children and adolescents who are physically active.

Definition

Numerator: Parent report of children (ages 6-11) and adolescents (ages 12-17) who are physically active at least 60 minutes per day. (YRBSS is also available and provides self-report by adolescents)

Denominator: All children ages 6-11 years and adolescents ages 12-17.

Units: 100

Text: Percent

Healthy People 2020 Objectives

Related to Physical Activity Objective 3: Increase the proportion of adolescents who meet current federal physical activity guidelines for aerobic physical activity and for muscle-strengthening activity. (Baseline: 18.4%, Target: 20.2% for adolescents to meet current physical activity guidelines for aerobic physical activity).

Related to Physical Activity Objective 4.1: Increase the proportion of the nation's public and private elementary schools that require daily physical education for all students. (Baseline: 3.8%, Target: 4.2%).

Data Sources and Data Issues

The revised National Survey of Children's Health, beginning in 2017. States can use the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System for adolescents until 2017.

• National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH). Funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration's (HRSA's) Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB), this survey provides national and state-level data on the physical and emotional health of American children 0 - 17 years old. Information is collected on factors related to the health and well-being of children, including access to and utilization of health care, receipt of care in a medical home, family interactions, parental health, school and after-school experiences, and neighborhood characteristics.
  
  Since 2003, the NSCH has provided both national and state-level prevalence estimates for a variety of child health and health care indicators. MCHB also fielded the National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs (NS-CSHCN) in 2001, 2005-2006, and 2009-2010. Its purpose was to assess the prevalence and impact of special health care needs among children and their families in the U.S. The 2016 NSCH underwent significant redesign and administration changes and differs greatly from the prior survey cycles. From 2016 onward, the purpose of the NSCH remains the same, but the two individual surveys were combined into a single survey conducted every year.
  
  You can access data from and information about the current NSCH through the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau, the Data Resource Center for Child & Adolescent Health, or the U.S. Census Bureau.  Data from and information about past NSCH and NS-CSHCN are available through the Data Resource Center for Child & Adolescent Health or the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics. 
  
  
• HealthyPeople 2020. Provides science-based, 10-year national objectives for improving the health of all Americans. Performance Measure 8 is related to the following HealthyPeople 2020 physical activity objectives:
  
  Objective 3 (PA-3): Increase the proportion of adolescents who meet current federal physical activity guidelines for aerobic physical activity and for muscle-strengthening activity. The data source for PA-3 is the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS). States can use the YRBS for adolescents until 2017. Enter Youth Online to analyze and create custom tables and graphs and perform statistical tests on high school and middle school YRBS results from 1991 to 2013, by site and health topic (physical activity).
  
  Objective 4.1 (PA-4.1): Increase the proportion of the nation's public and private elementary schools that require daily physical education for all students. SHPPS was most recently conducted in 2012. The data source for PA-4.1 is the School Health Policies and Practices Study (SHPPS), a national survey periodically conducted to assess school health policies and practices at the state, district, and classroom levels. View surveillance activities, trends, and results on physical education and physical activity.
  

• Action for Healthy Kids (AFHK): In Your State. State agency staff, school policymakers and administrators, teachers, health professionals, parents, and students work together to improve nutrition and physical activity in children, youth, and schools as members of state teams.
• Alliance for a Healthier Generation. A catalyst for children's health. Works with schools, companies, community organizations, health professionals, and families to transform the conditions and systems that lead to healthier kids.
• Association of State Public Health Nutritionists: Moving to the Future. Offers a collection of tools to develop successful community programs that promote healthy eating and physical activity. Includes instructions for conducting a community assessment, writing objectives, developing a plan, and evaluating programs.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Supports several initiatives and offers many resources to improve physical activity among children and adolescents. See State Indicator Report on Physical Activity (2014) , Youth Physical Activity Guidelines Toolkit, and Physical Activity Policy Resources.
  
  
• Let's Move. Aims to increase opportunities for kids to be physically active, both in and out of school and to create new opportunities for families to move together. See also Let's Move Active Schools, a partnership of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation and the Society of Health and Physical Educators (SHAPE America).
• National Coalition for Promoting Physical Activity. Leads implementation of the National Physical Activity Plan. See Make the Move: 2010-11 National Implementation of the U.S. Physical Activity Plan (2014) and The Economics of Physical Activity Promotion in the United States (2013).
• President's Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition: Be Active. Contains resources for coaches, teachers, health and fitness professionals, and families about physical fitness. Resources include a physical activity and fitness program toolkit, guides, fact sheets, research briefs, and the President's Challenge, helps people of all ages and abilities improve their fitness, physical activity, and nutrition habits through a suite of recognition programs to help Americans of all ages live healthier lives.. See Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans Midcourse Report: Strategies to Increase Physical Activity Among Youth (2012).
• Society of Health and Physical Educators (SHAPE America). Includes standards, guidelines, workshops, webinars, research, and other resources about physical education, physical activity, dance, school health, and sport. See Grade-Level Outcomes for K-12 Physical Education (2013).

• American Academy of Pediatrics, Committee on Environmental Health. 2009. The built environment: Designing communities to promote physical activity in children. Pediatrics 123(6):1591-1598.
• American Academy of Pediatrics, Council on School Health. 2013. The crucial role of recess. Pediatrics 131(1):183-188.
• American Academy of Pediatrics, Council on School Health. 2013. The role of the school physician. Pediatrics 131(1):178-182.
• National Association of State Boards of Education. State school health policy database: Physical education. Arlington, VA: National Association of State Boards of Education.

• Kahn EB, Ramsey LT, Brownson RC, et al. 2002. The effectiveness of interventions to increase physical activity: A systematic review. American Journal of Preventive Medicine 22(4S):73-107.
• Lonsdale C, Rosenkranz RR, Peralta LR, et al. 2013. A systematic review and meta-analysis of interventions designed to increase moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in school physical education lessons. Preventive Medicine 56(2):152-161.
• Task Force on Community Preventive Services. 2002. Recommendations to increase physical activity in communities. American Journal of Preventive Medicine 22(4S):67-72.
• U.S. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. 2014. Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans at-a-glance: A fact sheet for professionals. Washington, DC: U.S. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.
• U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. 2010. Screening for obesity in children and adolescents: US Preventive Services Task Force recommendation statement. Pediatrics 125(2):381-367.
• Whitlock EP, O'Connor EA, Williams SB, Beil L, Lutz KW. 2010. Effectiveness of weight management interventions in children: A targeted systematic review for the USPSTF. Pediatrics 125(2):e396-e418.

• Lee V, Srikantharajah J, Mikkelsen L. 2010. Fostering physical activity for children and youth: Opportunities for a lifetime of health. Oakland, CA: Convergence Partnership. 34 pp.
• Murphy NA, Carbone PS, and the Council on Children with Disabilities. 2008. Promoting the participation of children with disabilities in sports, recreation, and physical activities. Clinical report. Pediatrics 12(5):1057-1061.

• Physical Activity and Children and Adolescents Knowledge Path
• Physical Activity and Physical Education Resources for Schools