Changes In Leisure-time Physical Activity Among Adults Living In The United States During The Covd-19 Pandemic: The National Health Interview Survey, 2020 And 2022

PURPOSE: It’s unclear how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted population-level physical activity patterns. National surveillance data were used to examine two-year changes in reported physical activity across several different sociodemographic subgroups of adults living in the United States. METHODS: The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) uses geographically-clustered sampling to ensure a nationally-representative study sample. Data on leisure time physical activity were collected from adult (≥18 y) respondents in the early [2020 (N = 31,622] and the late phase of the pandemic [2022 (N = 27,711)]. Minutes/week of moderate- and vigorous-intensity physical activity (MPA; VPA) and the prevalence of meeting the 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines were compared between 2020 and 2022 according to sex, race, age, educational attainment, and geographical location using regression modeling. RESULTS: Between 2020 and 2022, minutes of MPA increased from 236 min/week to 257 min/week (p < 0.001), while VPA remained stable at 157 min/week. These observed increases in MPA were greater in men than in women (p < 0.001); greater among non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, and non-Hispanic Asian respondents (p < 0.05), compared with other races; and greater in those with a high school (p < 0.001) and a post-secondary education (p < 0.01) than in those with lower educational attainment. In 2020 and 2022, only 24% of Americans met both the aerobic and the muscle strengthening recommendations, and this prevalence also varied markedly by demographic subgroup. CONCLUSIONS: The increase in MPA following the COVID-19 pandemic is encouraging; however, it was not equally distributed across population sectors. Greater resources are needed to promote active lifestyles for all Americans.