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Educating the Student Body
FIGURE 2-4
Percentage of youth reporting at least 60 minutes of vigorous- or moderate-
intensity physical activity daily by sex: self-reported estimates from the Youth Risk Behavior 
Survey (YRBS) (2011) and accelerometer estimates from the National Health and Nutrition 
Examination Survey (NHANES) (2003-2004).
SOURCES: Troiano et al., 2008; CDC, 2012b.
Figure 2-4.eps
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Female Male
Female Male 
Female Male
Pe
rcentage
6-11 Years
12-15 Years
High School Students
YRBS
NHANES
analysis of youth aged 12-19 who performed treadmill tests as part of the 
NHANES found that about one-third of subjects failed to meet standards 
for cardiovascular fitness, but there were no significant differences in the 
prevalence of acceptable cardiovascular fitness among non-Hispanic white, 
non-Hispanic black, and Mexican American subjects (Pate et al., 2006a). 
Physical fitness and physical activity are different but directly related con-
cepts. Finding no differences in cardiovascular fitness among groups sug-
gests that there also are no differences in overall amounts of vigorous- and 
moderate-intensity physical activity.
Fewer data are available with which to assess the influence of socio-
economic status on physical activity behaviors, and these data, too, provide 
no clear picture. Proxy information from the NHANES for children aged 
6-11 indicate that a higher proportion from low-income than from high-
income families meet current recommendations for vigorous- or moderate-
intensity physical activity (Fakhouri et al., 2013). Self-reported information 
from children 9-13 years of age and their parents shows a slightly lower 
percentage (74 percent) of children from low-income (
≤
$25,000/year) than 
from high-income (>$50,000/year) families (78 percent) engaging in free-time 
vigorous- or moderate-intensity physical activity (CDC, 2003). This same sur-
vey did find that substantially fewer children from low-income (24 percent) 
than high-income (49 percent) families participate in organized physical activ-
ities because of transportation problems, expense, and lack of opportunities.

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Educating the Student Body: Taking Physical Activity and Physical Education to School
Status and Trends of Physical Activity Behaviors and Related School Policies
 
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