Trends in adherence to physical activity guidelines from 1997 to 2018 among adults with obesity: An analysis from the US National Health Interview Survey

The aim of this study was to estimate the temporal trends in adherence rates to the physical activity (PA) guidelines for aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities (MSA) among United States (US) adults with obesity. We retrieved data from 22 consecutive rounds of the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) conducted between 1997 and 2018. Meeting with the PA guidelines recommended by the World Health Organization was determined as follows: individuals achieving ≥150 weekly minutes of moderate physical activity (MPA), ≥75 weekly minutes of vigorous physical activity (VPA), and ≥2 weekly MSA training sessions. The prevalence of meeting PA guidelines increased from 9.4% in 1997 to 15.0% in 2018, although less than 2 in 10 adults with obesity met the guidelines throughout the study period. Overall, compared to females, males with obesity were more likely to adhere to PA recommendations (odds ratio (OR) = 2.03 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.94 to 2.12]). Also, each age year significantly reduced the odds of adhering to PA recommendations overall (OR = 0.97 [95% CI, 0.97 to 0.98]). Compared with their White counterparts, Black and other races people with obesity have higher significant odds of adhering to PA recommendations with, respectively, OR = 1.18 (95% CI, 1.12 to 1.24) and OR = 1.30 (95% CI, 1.18 to 1.43). In representative samples of adults with obesity from the US, there was an increasing trend for meeting PA guidelines, although only less than 2 in 10 met them.