Physical activity is an Australia's health topic

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Australia’s physical activity and sedentary behaviour guidelines

  • Physical activity is important across all ages and contributes to health, growth and development in children and adolescents.
  • Australia’s physical activity guidelines include recommendations for time spent on physical activity, and muscle-strengthening activities for different age groups as well as screen-based activity in children.

Do Australians meet the physical activity guidelines?

The majority of children aged 2–14 did not meet both the physical activity and screen-based activity components of the guidelines, based on the latest data from 2011–12.

In 2022:

  • 83% of adolescents aged 15–17 did not meet the physical activity guidelines; 80% did not do enough muscle-strengthening activities.
  • 37% of adults aged 18–64 did not meet the physical activity guidelines; 73% did not do enough muscle-strengthening activities.
  • 57% of adults aged 65 and over did not meet the physical activity guidelines; 84% did not do enough muscle-strengthening activities.

How has physical activity participation changed across time?

There has been a large decrease in the proportion of adults aged 18 and over who did not meet the physical activity guidelines to 46% in 2022, from 65% in 2017–18. This follows from the slight decreasing trend observed since 2007–08. 

How does physical activity vary across population groups?

In 2022, after adjusting for age:

  • more adults aged 18 and over in Outer regional and remote areas (45%) did not meet the physical activity guidelines than in Major cities (40%).
  • more adults in the lowest socioeconomic areas (45%) did not meet the physical activity guidelines compared with people in the highest socioeconomic areas (37%).

What are the health impacts of physical inactivity?

Physical inactivity is the ninth leading preventable cause of ill health and premature death.

Strategies for increasing physical activity

  • The National Preventive Health Strategy 2021–2030 outlines the long-term approach to preventive health in Australia and includes 3 measurable targets to tackle physical inactivity.
  • The National Obesity Strategy 2022–2032 is a framework for action to prevent, reduce and treat overweight and obesity in Australia and shares the 3 targets with the NPHS to increase physical activity. 
  • Current monitoring of the progress against the targets shows that in 2022 more people are doing physical and strengthening activities than in 2017–18. 

‘Physical activity’ is any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that requires energy expenditure (WHO 2022). Low levels of physical activity are a major risk factor for chronic conditions. People who are not active enough have a greater risk of developing cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis and dementia. Being physically active improves mental and musculoskeletal health and reduces other risk factors such as overweight and obesity, high blood pressure and high blood cholesterol. Physical activity can also improve symptoms, delay, or halt the progression of a number of conditions, or the onset of associated diseases and complications (Pedersen and Saltin 2015).

Some examples of physical activity include:

  • sporting and leisure activities, such as swimming, tennis, bushwalking and going to the gym
  • incidental activities from being at work, transport to and from work, or household chores
  • muscle strengthening activities, such as some types of yoga or Pilates, resistance-band training, high intensity activities (for example, cycling, dancing, gymnastics or gardening that requires digging or lifting), climbing stairs or hills, squats, push-ups, sit-ups, weight training and active playgrounds for children (for example: monkey bars, climbing frames, skipping or hopscotch).

Australia's physical activity and sedentary behaviour guidelines

Being physically active is important across all ages and contributes to health, growth, and development in children and adolescents (WHO 2018). Physical activity and exercise guidelines for all Australians are a set of evidence-based recommendations that outline the minimum amount of physical activity required for health benefits, as well as the maximum amount of time a person should spend on sedentary behaviours to achieve optimal health outcomes.  There are different recommendations for each age group (Department of Health and Aged Care 2021a). For a summary of the Guidelines, see Table 1 in the Technical notes.

Do Australians meet the physical activity guidelines?

Children aged 2–14

In 2011–12, based on the latest available data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) 2011–12 National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey (NNPAS), it was estimated that the majority of children aged 2–14 did not meet the Guidelines:

  • Over 8 in 10 (83%) children aged 2–5 did not meet both the physical activity component and the screen-based activity component – 39% did not meet the physical activity component and 75% did not meet the screen-based activity component.
  • Nearly 9 in 10 (88%) children aged 5–12 did not meet both the physical activity component and the screen-based activity component – 74% did not meet the physical activity component and 65% did not meet the screen-based activity component.
  • Most young people (96%) aged 13–14 did not meet both the physical activity component and the screen-based activity component – 89% did not meet the physical activity component and 77% did not meet the screen-based activity component (AIHW 2018).

For more information on children’s physical activity, see Physical activity across the life stages. For more information on the data source used for this section, see the Technical notes.

Young people aged 15–17

For young people aged 15–17, ‘insufficient physical activity’ is defined as not completing 60 minutes per day of physical activity a week.

In 2022, based on self-reported data from the ABS 2022 National Health Survey (NHS), an estimated 83% of young people aged 15–17 were insufficiently physically active. A large proportion (80%) also did not do the recommended 3 days a week of muscle-strengthening activity (AIHW analysis of ABS 2023a).

Among those who were insufficiently physically active:

  • 23% did some physical activity on all 7 days but did not meet the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity per day.
  • 11% were completely physically inactive (that is, did 0 days of physical activity in the last week) (AIHW analysis of ABS 2023a).

For those who did not meet the muscle-strengthening activity guideline, 9.1% did strength activities on 2 days in the last week. The majority (82%) did not do any strength activities on any day in the last week (AIHW analysis of ABS 2023a).

Adults aged 18–64

For people aged 18–64, ‘insufficient physical activity’ is defined as not completing 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity across 5 or more days a week.

In 2022, based on self-reported data from the ABS 2022 NHS, it is estimated that 78% of adults aged 18–64 were insufficiently physically active and also did not meet the muscle-strengthening component of the physical activity guidelines. This proportion was higher in women (80%) than men (75%) (AIHW analysis of ABS 2023a). 

Physical activity

In 2022, based on self-reported data from the ABS 2022 NHS, nearly 4 in 10 (37%) adults aged 18–64 were insufficiently physically active. This proportion was higher in women (41%) than men (34%) (Figure 1).

The proportion of people who were insufficiently physically active generally increased with increasing age, from 34% of those aged 18–24 to 42% of those aged 55–64 (Figure 1) (AIHW analysis of ABS 2023a).

Figure 1: Proportion of insufficiently physically active adults aged 18 and over, by age and sex, 2022.

Insufficient physical activity increases with age, and is more pronounced in females compared to males, with those aged 55 and over having the least amount of physical activity.

In 2022, among adults aged 18–64 who were insufficiently physically active:

  • 13% did some amount of physical activity on 5 or more days in the last week but did not do the recommended 150 minutes of physical activity per week.
  • 25% were completely physically inactive (that is, did 0 days of physical activity in the last week).
  • 31% did 150 minutes or more of physical activity but did not do so on the recommended number of days.
  • 28% did less than 30 minutes of physical activity in the last week (AIHW analysis of ABS 2023a) (Figure 2).

Figure 2: Participation in physical activity in the last week, by days and minutes among adults aged 18–64 who were insufficiently physically active, 2022

Of people aged 18–64 who were insufficiently physically active, 25% did no physical activity, however about 31% of people complete 150 minutes of exercise, but not on the recommended number of days.

 

Muscle strengthening activity

In 2022, based on self-reported data from the ABS 2022 NHS, over 7 in 10 (73%) adults aged 18–64 did not do the recommended 2 days a week of muscle-strengthening activity each week. This proportion was higher in women (76%) than men (71%) (AIHW analysis of ABS 2023a).

Among those aged 18–64 who did not meet the muscle-strengthening guideline (at least 2 days of muscle-strengthening activities per week), 91% did no muscle-strengthening activity (that is, did 0 days in the last week). This increased with age, with 89% of people aged 18–34 doing no muscle-strengthening to 94% of those aged 55–64 (AIHW analysis of ABS 2023a). 

Adults aged 65 and over

For adults aged 65 and over, ‘insufficient physical activity’ is defined as not completing 30 minutes or more of physical activity on at least 5 days a week.

In 2022, based on self-reported data from the ABS 2022 NHS, nearly 9 in 10 (89%) adults aged 65 and over were insufficiently active and also did not meet the muscle-strengthening component of the physical activity guidelines. This is similar between men (88%) and women (89%) (AIHW analysis of ABS 2023a).

Physical activity

In 2022, based on self-reported data from the ABS 2022 NHS, 57% of adults aged 65 and over were insufficiently physically active. This was higher in women (60%) than men (53%) (Figure 1).

Among those who were insufficiently physically active:

  • 19% did some amount of physical activity on 5 or more days in the last week but did not do the recommended number of minutes of physical activity.
  • 39% were completely physically inactive (that is, did 0 days of physical activity in the last week).
  • 24% did 150 minutes or more of physical activity but did not do so on at least the recommended number of days – this was higher in men (27%) than women (21%).
  • over 4 in 10 (42%) did less than 30 minutes of physical activity (AIHW analysis of ABS 2023a) (Figure 3).

Muscle-strengthening activity

In 2022, based on self-reported data from the ABS 2022 NHS, over 8 in 10 (84%) adults aged 65 and over did not do at least 2 days of muscle-strengthening activity.

Among those who did not do at least 2 days of muscle-strengthening activity, the majority (95%) did no strength activities (that is, did 0 days of activity). A small proportion (4.9%) did muscle-strengthening activities on 1 day of the week (AIHW analysis of ABS 2023a).

Figure 3: Participation in physical activity in the last week, by days and minutes among adults aged 65 and over who were insufficiently physically active, 2022

Of those who were insufficiently physically active, about 20% of people complete 150 minutes of exercise, with little difference between gender.

Has physical activity participation changed across time?

There has been a large decrease in the proportion of adults aged 18 and over who did not meet the physical activity guidelines to 46% in 2022, from 65% in 2017–18. This followed from the slight decreasing trends observed since 2007–08. After adjusting for age, this change was significant (Figure 4) (AIHW analysis of ABS 2009, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2023). For these trends by age, see Strategies for increasing physical activity section below. 

Over the last 5 years, there was only a slight decrease in the proportion of adults aged 18 and over who did not meet the strengthening guidelines to 76% in 2022, from 77% in 2017–18 (AIHW analysis of ABS 2019 and 2023a).

In both 2020 and 2021, the participation habits of Australians changed as well as their motivation for exercising, with an increase in people being motivated by mental health benefits. Compared to pre-pandemic, fewer Australians relied solely on sporting clubs or organised venues for exercise. Activities such as recreational walking and bushwalking have increased in participation. This was particularly associated with higher participation by women (Australian Sports Commission 2023). During COVID-19 restrictions, increased physical activity participation was driven by women. However, data from the AusPlay survey show in 2022–23, the higher frequency of physical activity participation seen during COVID-19 restrictions have dropped back to pre-pandemic levels among females aged 15 and over. For men aged 15 and over, their frequency of participation in physical activity remained relatively stable and did not change significantly during and after the pandemic (Australian Sports Commission 2023).

More research is required to understand the trend in physical activity participation following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Figure 4: Proportion of adults who did not meet the physical activity component of the guidelines (excluding workplace activity), 2007–08 to 2022

This line graph of time series shows the current decrease in insufficient physical activity is much larger than the slight decrease observed over the previous decade. 

How does physical activity vary across population groups?

In 2022, based on self-reported data from the ABS 2022 NHS, the proportion of adults aged 18 and over who were insufficiently physically active by remoteness areas were:

  • 46% for Outer regional and Remote areas
  • 43% for Inner regional areas
  • 41% for Major cities (AIHW analysis of ABS 2023a).

After adjusting for age, more adults were insufficiently physically active in Outer regional and Remote (45%) areas than in Major cities (40%) (Figure 5).

The proportion of adults who were insufficiently physically active was 47% in the lowest socioeconomic areas and 37% in the highest socioeconomic areas. After adjusting for age, more people in the lowest socioeconomic areas (45%) were insufficiently physically active, compared with 37% in the highest socioeconomic areas (Figure 5) (AIHW analysis of ABS 2023a).

Figure 5: Proportion of adults aged 18 and over who are insufficiently physically active, by selected population characteristics, 2022.

In 2022, insufficient physical activity varies across regional areas but is greater for those in lower socioeconomic areas, gradually decreasing to the highest socioeconomic area. 


What are the health impacts of physical inactivity?

Burden of disease is a measure of the years of healthy life lost from living with ill health or dying prematurely from disease and injury. This includes how much risk factors contribute to this burden.

Physical inactivity was the ninth leading preventable cause of ill health and premature death, responsible for 2.5% of total disease burden in Australia, in 2018 (AIHW 2021).

Physical inactivity increases the risk of many diseases and is causally linked to the burden from type 2 diabetes, bowel cancer, dementia, coronary heart disease and strokes, as well as uterine and breast cancer in females.

In 2018, physical inactivity contributed to:

  • 20% of type 2 diabetes disease burden
  • 16% of coronary heart disease burden
  • 16% of the uterine cancer burden
  • 12% of bowel cancer burden
  • 12% of dementia burden
  • 9.2% of stroke burden
  • 3.2% of breast cancer burden

Physical inactivity also contributed to around 8,300 deaths (5.2% of total deaths) (AIHW 2021).

For more information on the disease burden due to physical inactivity, see Burden of disease.

Strategies for increasing physical activity

Australia’s National Preventive Health Strategy (NPHS) 2021–2030 aims to improve the health and wellbeing of all Australians at all stages of life, through a whole-of-government approach to prevention that addresses the wider determinants of health, reduces health inequities and decreases the overall burden of disease. The NPHS strongly emphasises that preventive action must focus on the wider determinants of health to address the increasing complexity of health issues and the interconnected causes of poor health and wellbeing.

The NPHS recognises that physical inactivity is a complex problem and requires a whole-of-systems approach to support Australians to embed more movement into their everyday life. It is also acknowledged that the largest health gains are achieved when the least active individuals become more active, even by small amounts (Department of Health and Aged Care 2021b).

The National Obesity Strategy 2022–2032 is a framework for action to prevent, reduce and treat overweight or obesity in Australia. It recognises that the root causes of overweight or obesity are complex and embedded in the way we live (Commonwealth of Australia 2022). To address this issue, it requires changes to systems, environments and commercial determinants that affect Australians’ opportunities to live healthy lives. Increasing physical activity levels and reducing sedentary behaviour in the Australian population are objectives of this strategy.

The 3 physical activity targets, shared by the NPHS and the National Obesity Strategy are:

  1. Reduce the prevalence of physical inactivity amongst children, adolescents and adults by at least 15% by 2030 – the proportion of Australians who were insufficiently physically active has decreased in all age groups between 2017–18 and 2022, respectively (where data are available):
    1. in adolescents aged 15–17 decreased from 89% to 83%
    2. in adults aged 18–64 decreased from 51% to 37%
    3. in adults aged 65 and over decreased from 72% to 57% (AIHW analysis of ABS 2019 and ABS 2023a).
  2. Reduce the prevalence of Australians aged 15 and over undertaking no physical activity by at least 15% by 2030 – the prevalence of Australians aged 15 and over undertaking no physical activity has decreased from 14% in 2017–18 to 12% in 2022 (ABS 2018, ABS 2023b).
  3. Increase the prevalence of Australians aged 15 and over who are meeting the strengthening guidelines by at least 15% by 2030 – the proportion who did not meet the strengthening guidelines:
    1. did not decrease significantly for adolescents aged 15–17 from 2017–18 (84%) to 2022 (80%). 
    2. did decrease slightly for adults aged 18 and over from 77% in 2017–18 to 76% in 2022 (AIHW analysis of ABS 2019 and 2023a).

Current progress against the baseline from 2017–18 has shown an increase in physical activity participation. However, further monitoring is required for determining whether Australia will meet these targets.

For more information, see the Department of Health and Aged Care National Preventive Health Strategy 2021–2030 and National Obesity Strategy 2022–2032.

Where do I go for more information?

For more information on physical activity, see:

For more on this topic, visit Physical activity.

Technical notes

Table 1 summarises the different recommendations for different age groups. This approach acknowledges that different amounts of physical activity are required at various stages of life for maximum health benefits (Table 1).

Table 1: Summary of Australian physical activity and sedentary behaviour guidelines

 Ages 1–2Ages 3–5(a)Ages 5–17(b)Ages 18–64Ages 65 and over

Physical activity

At least 180 minutes of energetic play per day.

At least 180 minutes per day with at least 60 minutes of energetic play.

At least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity involving mainly aerobic activities per day.

Be active on most, preferably all days with at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity per week.

Be active on most, preferably all days with at least 30 minutes of moderate activity per day.

Strength

N/A

N/A

At least 3 days a week.

Muscle-strengthening activities 2 times a week.

Incorporate muscle-strengthening activities.

Sedentary or screen-based activity(c)

Do not restrain for more than 1 hour at a time.

Under 2 years should have no sedentary screen time.

For 2-year-olds, no more than 60 minutes of sedentary screen time per day.

Should not be restrained for more than 60 minutes at a time(d).
No more than 60 minutes of sedentary screen time per day.

No more than 120 minutes of screen use.
Break up long periods of sitting.

Minimise and break up prolonged periods of sitting.

Be as active as possible.

Notes:

(a) This group includes those aged 5 who are not yet in full-time schooling (for example, pre-schoolers).

(b) This group includes those aged 5 who are in full-time schooling.

(c) Does not include screen time needed for school-work.

(d) Examples include being restrained in a stroller, car seat or high-chair.

Source: Department of Health and Aged Care 2021a.

About the Australian Bureau of Statistics National Health Surveys

This web report uses data from the following surveys from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS):

  • 2022 National Health Survey (NHS).
  • 2011–12 National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey (NNPAS).

The NHS is a series of surveys designed to collect a range of information about the health of Australians, including:

  • prevalence of long-term health conditions
  • health risk factors such as smoking, fruit and vegetable consumption, alcohol consumption and exercise
  • use of health services such as consultations with health practitioners and actions people have recently taken for their health
  • demographic and socioeconomic characteristics.

For more information, see National Health Survey.

The 2011–12 NNPAS was part of the 2011–13 Australian Health Survey. It collected detailed physical activity information as well as 24-hour dietary recall of food and beverage consumption, with general information on dietary behaviours. It is the most recent detailed data available on physical activity and sedentary screen time for children and young people aged 2–14. The NNPAS is scheduled to be conducted again in 2023–2024 as part of the Intergenerational Health and Mental Health Study.

For more information, see National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey.

Data

Archived content