Indicator 12: Youth Physical Activity
Why This Is Important
Lack of enough physical activity is a critical health-related risk factor. Lack of physical
activity can contribute to a young person being overweight, impair development of bones
and muscles, and result in increased levels of stress. Increased physical activity is an
important factor in reducing youth obesity.
Where We Stand
Sixty-two percent of the high school-aged respondents to the 2005 Maine Youth Risk
Behavior Survey indicated that they had exercised or participated in physical activities that
made them sweat and breathe hard for at least 20 minutes on three or more of the past
seven days. Older teens reported slightly lower rates of such vigorous exercise than younger
ones, with 75% of middle school students reporting that they exercised vigorously. In
addition boys reported higher rates than girls (63% versus 61%). Twenty-six percent of the
youth reported that they exercised moderately (defined as engaging in physical activities that
did not make them sweat or breathe hard for at least 30 minutes on five or more of the
previous seven days). Maine youth reported slightly lower rates of physical activity than
youth nationally in 2003.
Data Sources and Context
This information comes from the Maine Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS),
Maine
Department of Education. The data source is the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System
maintained by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Data from the
Maine YRBS is available on-line at http://www.mainecshp.com/survey.html. National YRBS
figures for 2005 will be available in Summer 2006 and will be found at http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/yrbs/index.htm.
*Important Note: YRBS data is gathered every two years using a questionnaire administered
to a sample of students in Maine and nationally. When the Maine YRBS survey has an overall
response rate of 60% or higher, the CDC statistically weights the results so that the numbers
can be generalized to all public school students in the state in grades 9-12. When the overall
response rate is below 60%, the CDC does not perform such statistical weighting, and the data
apply only to the students who actually filled out the questionnaires. Maine’s YRBS data for
1999 was unweighted, so information from that year cannot be compared reliably with data
from 1995, 1997, 2001, 2003 and 2005.
