Insufficient Physical Activity

 

People who are insufficiently physically active have an increased risk of noncommunicable diseases, compared with those who engage in at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity most days of the week. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a level of 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous-intensity activity daily in adolescents and 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week or equivalent for adults to benefit from the reduced risk of noncommunicable diseases and to improve their health and well-being.

This data visualization presents estimates of the level of prevalence of insufficient physical activity in adolescents and adults by sex in countries of the Americas in 2016.

In 2016, the prevalence of insufficient physical activity in adolescents aged 11-17 years was high in most of the countries, ranging from 72.1% in the United States of America to 88.8% in Venezuela.

In adults aged 18 years and over, the prevalence of insufficient physical activity ranges from 21.7% in Dominica to 47% in Brazil. 


Suggested citation:

PAHO. Prevalence of insufficient physical activity in the Region of the Americas, 2016. Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health Data Portal. Pan American Health Organization, 2021

DATA CLASSIFICATION

The data is presented in five discrete classes created using the quantile classification method in the map and horizontal bar chart. Each class contains 20% of countries, which is easy to interpret. The quintile classes are labeled sequentially from Q1 as the first quintile including the lowest fifth (1% to 20%) of the data to Q5, the fifth quintile representing the class with the highest fifth (81% to 100%) of the data.

INDICATOR DEFINITION

Indicator name: Prevalence of insufficient physical activity among adolescents aged 18 years and over 

Data type: Percent

Topic: Risk factors

Definition: Percent of defined population attaining less than 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week, or less than 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity per week, or equivalent.

Disaggregation: Age, sex, year, location 

Method of measurement: Self-report

Method of estimation: The estimates are based on self-reported physical activity captured using the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ), theInternational Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), or a similar questionnaire covering activity at work/in the household, for transport, and during leisure time. Where necessary, adjustments were made for the reported definition (in case it was different to the indicator definition), for known over-reporting of activity of the IPAQ, for survey coverage (in case a survey only covered urban areas), and for age coverage (in case the survey age range was narrower than 18+ years). No estimates were produced for countries with no data.

Method of estimation of global and regional aggregates: Global and WHO regional estimates were produced by combining country estimates for each group, and weighting them by country population size. Countries with no estimate (missing data) were not taken into account. 

Detailed information on sources and methods is available on the methodological notes.

Preferred data sources:

  • Population-based surveys
  • Surveillance systems

Indicator name: Prevalence of insufficient physical activity among school-going adolescents aged 11-17 years

Data type: Percent

Topic: Risk factors

Definition: Percent of school-going adolescents not meeting WHO recommendations on Physical Activity for Health, i.e. doing less than 60 minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity daily.

Disaggregation: Sex, year, location

Method of measurement: Self-report

Method of estimation: The estimates are based on self-reported physical activity using questionnaires. Main data sources included the Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS), the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC), and some other national surveys. Where necessary, adjustments were made for the reported definition (in case it was different to the indicator definition), and for survey coverage (in case a survey only covered urban areas). No estimates were produced for countries with no data.

Method of estimation of global and regional aggregates: Global estimates as well as estimates for WHO regions were produced. Country estimates were combined for each group, weighting them by the population size of each country. Countries with no estimates were not taken into account. 

Detailed information on sources and methods is available on the methodological notes.

Preferred data sources:

  • Surveillance systems
  • National survey

More information