Older Teens’ Exercise Habits Follow Them into Adulthood

ELK GROVE VILLAGE, Ill. — A study in the October 2016 issue of Pediatrics, “Changes in Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity Among Older Adolescents,” assessed students’ activity levels from 10th grade through the first year after high school. Researchers conducted annual reviews of students in 44 schools representing urban, suburban, and rural communities, and found that fewer than 9{06cf2b9696b159f874511d23dbc893eb1ac83014175ed30550cfff22781411e5} of participants met the recommended 60 minutes or more of moderate to vigorous activity per day.

However, they noted that social contexts such as school attendance can play a role in exercise levels as teens transition into adulthood. The authors found that students who attended a four-year college versus not attending school, and students who lived on campus versus living on their own or at home, were more likely to meet the recommended 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity levels in the first year after high school.

According to the authors, this study shows that high-school students do not get the recommended amount of daily exercise and that this is likely to continue as they transition into adulthood.