PHYSICAL-ACTIVITY PATTERNS IN AMERICAN HIGH-SCHOOL-STUDENTS - RESULTSFROM THE 1990 YOUTH RISK BEHAVIOR SURVEY

Objective: To assess by self-reported participation in vigorous physic al activity, the quantity and quality of school physical education, te am sports, and television watching among 11631 American high school st udents. Results: Of all students in grades 9 through 12, 37% reported engaging in 20 minutes of vigorous physical activity three or more tim es per week. Participation in vigorous physical activity was higher am ong boys than girls (P<.01) and higher among white students than among those of other races and ethnic groups (P<.01). Overall, 43.7% of boy s and 52% of girls reported that they were not enrolled in physical ed ucation classes. Of the students who reported attending physical educa tion class during the past 2 weeks, 33.2% reported exercising 20 minut es or more in physical education class three to five times per week. I n contrast, rates of participation in varsity and junior varsity sport s remained constant across grade levels, but participation in recreati onal physical activity programs showed a lesser magnitude and also dec reased with advancing grade. More than 70% of students reported spendi ng at least 1 hour watching television each school day, and more than 35% reported watching television 3 hours or more each school day. Conc lusions: Participation in vigorous physical activity and physical educ ation class time devoted to physical activity are substantially below the goals set in Healthy People 2000. As students move toward graduati on, we observed disturbing declines in participation in community recr eation programs and overall vigorous activity. Students appear to spen d considerably more time watching television than participating in phy sical activity. Public health efforts should focus on increasing the p hysical activity levels of our youth to enhance their current well-bei ng and to reduce the risks of future chronic disease.