Temporal trends of no moderate to vigorous physical activity in adolescents: A 16-year trend analysis of 115,926 participants

This study examined year-to-year trends in the prevalence of no moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) among U.S. adolescents using nationally representative data from the 2005–2021 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (N = 115,926). Overall, the prevalence of no MVPA declined significantly from 24.3% in 2005 to 15.5% in 2021, with consistent downward trends observed across sex, age, race/ethnicity, body mass index, and recreational screen time subgroups. Despite overall improvements, higher rates of no MVPA persisted among girls, older adolescents, non-White youth, those with excess weight, and adolescents reporting >2 hours/day of recreational screen time. These findings highlight meaningful progress in reducing complete physical inactivity among U.S. adolescents, while underscoring the need for targeted physical activity promotion efforts to address persistent sociodemographic disparities.