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- Definition: Percentage of public school students in grades 5, 7, and 9 scoring in the "Healthy Fitness Zone" on all six areas of the FitnessGram assessment, by race/ethnicity and grade level (e.g., in 2019, 16.6% of Hispanic/Latino 5th graders in California met all fitness standards).
- Data Source: California Dept. of Education, Physical Fitness Testing Research Files (Jan. 2020).
- Footnote: Years presented are the final year of a school year (e.g., 2018-19 is shown as 2019). The FitnessGram areas are: (1) aerobic capacity, (2) body composition, (3) abdominal strength, (4) trunk strength, (5) upper body strength, (6) flexibility. In 2011 new standards were applied to areas (1) and (2), so data presented here may not be comparable with data from 2010 and earlier. The notation S refers to data that have been suppressed because 20 or fewer students in that group were tested, 20 or fewer met all six standards, or the grade level is not offered. N/A means that data are not available.
Learn More About Physical Fitness
- Measures of Physical Fitness on Kidsdata.org
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On kidsdata.org, indicators of physical fitness include the percentage of public school students in grades 5, 7, and 9 scoring in the "Healthy Fitness Zone" on all six areas (aerobic capacity, body composition, abdominal strength, trunk strength, upper body strength, and flexibility) of California's physical fitness test, the FitnessGram assessment. These data are available by grade level, gender, and race/ethnicity.
School staff reports on the extent to which their school provides students opportunities for physical education and activity and their level of agreement that students at school are healthy and physically fit also are provided. -
- Physical Fitness
- Nutrition
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- Children Drinking One or More Sugar-Sweetened Beverages in the Past Day
- Children Eating Five or More Servings of Fruits or Vegetables in the Past Day, by Age Group
- Children Eating Fast Food Two or More Times in the Past Week, by Age Group
- Students Eating Breakfast in the Past Day, by Grade Level
- Healthy Food Choices Provided at School (Staff Reported)
- Weight
- Why This Topic Is Important
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Regular physical activity promotes health and well being. Consistent exercise is associated with improvements in muscle development, bone strength, weight control, mental health, and academic performance in young people (1). Compared with those who are physically inactive, children who exercise regularly are less likely to develop risk factors for chronic diseases such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes and are more likely to carry active lifestyles into adulthood (1, 2).
Health experts recommend that children and adolescents ages 6-17 participate in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity for a minimum of 60 minutes each day (1, 2). Exercise should include aerobic activity (e.g., running or bicycling), muscle strengthening (e.g., push-ups), and bone strengthening (e.g., jumping rope), each at least 3 days per week (1). However, according to 2016 estimates, fewer than one in four young people nationwide get this recommended amount of physical activity (1, 2). Further, inequities by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status persist, with children of color less likely to meet recommended levels of physical fitness and low-income communities offering fewer opportunities for children to be physically active (2, 3).Find more information about children's physical fitness in kidsdata.org's Research & Links section. Also see kidsdata.org's Weight topic for information about overweight and obese youth.
Sources for this narrative:
1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020). Physical activity facts. Retrieved from: https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/physicalactivity/facts.htm
2. National Physical Activity Plan Alliance. (2018). The 2018 United States report card on physical activity for children and youth. Retrieved from: https://paamovewithus.org/for-transfer/reportcard
3. As cited on kidsdata.org, Students meeting all fitness standards, by race/ethnicity and grade level. (2021). California Department of Education. - How Children Are Faring
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In 2019, fewer than one in four (23%) California 5th graders met state standards in all physical fitness areas, a figure that has remained relatively stable since 2011. During the same period, higher percentages of 7th graders (more than 28%) and 9th graders (at least 33%) met all standards. Girls were more likely than boys to meet fitness standards in 5th grade, but in 9th grade a higher percentage of boys met all standards. Across grade levels, Asian, Filipino, and white students were more likely to meet fitness standards than their peers in other groups.
At the local level, there is wide variation in the percentage of students meeting fitness standards. For 5th graders in 2019, across locations with data, figures ranged from less than 15% to more than 40% at the county level and from less than 7% to more than 70% among school districts.
In 2017-2019, 14% of responses from elementary public school staff in California reported strong agreement that students at their school were healthy and physically fit; this compares with 10% of responses from middle school staff, 9% from high school staff, and 7% from non-traditional program staff. When asked about opportunities for physical education and activity available at their school, 71% of responses by middle school staff indicated that these were provided a lot, followed by 64% of responses from elementary school staff, 52% of responses from high school staff, and 40% of responses from staff at non-traditional programs. - Policy Implications
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Physical activity is linked to positive health and academic outcomes, and also contributes to helping young people achieve and maintain a healthy weight (1). Most youth, statewide and nationally, do not meet recommended standards for physical activity or fitness (2, 3). While California has been a leader in advancing policies to promote physical fitness and combat childhood obesity, the state continues to face large disparities in fitness levels and obesity rates by socioeconomic status and race/ethnicity (3, 4).
Local, state, and federal policymakers can promote children's physical fitness by preserving and effectively implementing existing policies and by making additional investments and policy changes in early childhood settings, schools, and communities. For example, California has set physical education requirements for schools but not all schools meet them (5, 6). Low-income, Hispanic/Latino, and African American/black students are more likely to attend schools that are not compliant with physical education mandates than white and higher-income students (5, 6). Improving youth fitness also requires equitable access to safe places to play and built environments that encourage physical activity, both in schools and communities (7, 8).
Policy options that could improve children's physical activity include:- Ensuring adequate funding, support, and compliance monitoring systems so that all schools meet or exceed state physical education (PE) requirements; also, encouraging schools to adopt comprehensive physical activity programs that include evidence-based PE with qualified teachers, daily physical activity during school beyond PE classes, and physical activity before and after school, with involvement from staff, families, and the community (6, 7, 8)
- Increasing the number of children walking or biking to school through promotion of walk-to-school and Safe Routes to School programs (7, 9)
- Encouraging schools to make recreational facilities available for use outside of school hours, especially in neighborhoods that lack such facilities—state and federal policies support joint-use agreements between schools and community organizations for this purpose (7, 9)
- Strengthening and ensuring implementation of policies to promote physical activity in after-school and early childhood settings, including staff training on existing guidelines, and supporting development of evidence-based physical activity programs in these settings; also increasing the accessibility and affordability of such programs in low-income neighborhoods (7, 8, 10)
- Promoting collaboration across sectors to address structural barriers that limit opportunities for physical activity, especially in low-income areas and communities of color; for example, incorporating health priorities into transportation and community planning to create safe built environments that encourage walking/biking and provide access to parks, recreation centers, or other places for play and physical activity (7, 8, 9)
- Supporting comprehensive public health initiatives that utilize best practices to promote physical activity and include effective planning, leadership, evaluation, research, and advocacy (8)
For more policy ideas about promoting physical activity among children, see kidsdata.org’s Research & Links section or visit Active Living Research and Action for Healthy Kids. Also see Policy Implications on kidsdata.org under Weight and Nutrition.
Sources for this narrative:
1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020). Physical activity facts. Retrieved from: https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/physicalactivity/facts.htm
2. National Physical Activity Plan Alliance. (2018). The 2018 United States report card on physical activity for children and youth. Retrieved from: https://paamovewithus.org/for-transfer/reportcard
3. As cited on kidsdata.org, Students meeting all fitness standards. (2021). California Department of Education.
4. California Department of Public Health, & Nutrition Policy Institute. (2016). Obesity in California: The weight of the state, 2000-2014. Retrieved from: https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CCDPHP/DCDIC/NEOPB/CDPH%20Document%20Library/RES_CAObesityReport_Website.pdf
5. Sanchez-Vaznaugh, E. V., et al. (2017). Physical education policy compliance and Latino children's fitness: Does the association vary by school neighborhood socioeconomic advantage? PLoS ONE, 12(6), e0178980. Retrieved from: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0178980
6. Sanchez-Vaznaugh, E. V., et al. (2013). When school districts fail to comply with state physical education laws, the fitness of California's children lags. Active Living Research. Retrieved from: https://activelivingresearch.org/sites/activelivingresearch.org/files/PolicyBrief_PEPolicyCali.pdf
7. California Department of Public Health. (2018). Physical activity resource guide: Implementing physical activity programming for SNAP-eligible populations (2nd ed.). Retrieved from: https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CCDPHP/DCDIC/NEOPB/CDPH%20Document%20Library/Final%20PARG%206.2.18.pdf
8. Pate, R. R., et al. (2016). Policies for promotion of physical activity and prevention of obesity in adolescence. Journal of Exercise Science and Fitness, 14(2), 47-53. Retrieved from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1728869X1630154X
9. California Department of Public Health, Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health Division. (2021). Nutrition and Physical Activity Initiative: Systems and environmental changes. Retrieved from: https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CFH/DMCAH/NUPA/Pages/Systems-and-Environmental-Change.aspx
10. Cradock, A. L., et al. (2017). Using cost-effectiveness analysis to prioritize policy and programmatic approaches to physical activity promotion and obesity prevention in childhood. Preventive Medicine, 95(Suppl.), S17-S27. Retrieved from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0091743516303395 - Research & Links
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- Websites with Related Information
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- Action for Healthy Kids
- Active Living Research. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
- Alliance for a Healthier Generation
- CalFresh Healthy Living. California Dept. of Public Health.
- California After School Network: Health and Wellness Resources
- California Project LEAN
- California School Boards Association: Governance and Policy Resources
- CDC Healthy Schools. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- Nutrition and Physical Activity Branch. California Dept. of Public Health.
- Nutrition and Physical Activity Initiative. California Dept. of Public Health, Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health Division.
- Nutrition Policy Institute. University of California, Agriculture and Natural Resources.
- Physical Activity Alliance
- Physical Activity and Children and Adolescents: Professional Resource Guide. Maternal and Child Health Digital Library.
- The Community Guide: Physical Activity. Community Preventive Services Task Force.
- Key Reports and Research
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- Active Education: Growing Evidence on Physical Activity and Academic Performance. (2015). Active Living Research. Castelli, D. M., et al.
- Adolescent Physical Activity: Role of School Support, Role Models, and Social Participation in Racial and Income Disparities. (2015). Environment and Behavior. Babey, S. H., et al.
- Early Care and Education Policies and Programs to Support Healthy Eating and Physical Activity: Best Practices and Changes Over Time. (2017). Healthy Eating Research. Fox, T., et al.
- Framework for Action: Addressing Nutrition and Physical Activity through ESSA Implementation. Alliance for a Healthier Generation & Healthy Schools Campaign.
- Improving Community Health, One Neighborhood at a Time. (2018). Nutrition Policy Institute.
- Neighborhood Characteristics and Children’s Physical Activity. (2014). Child Trends. Cooper, M., & Murphey, D.
- Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans (2nd ed.). (2018). U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services.
- Physical Activity Opportunities in Afterschool Programs. (2015). Health Promotion Practice. Weaver, R. G., et al.
- Physical Activity Resource Guide: Implementing Physical Activity Programming for SNAP-Eligible Populations (2nd ed.). (2018). California Dept. of Public Health.
- Physical Education Policy Compliance and Latino Children’s Fitness: Does the Association Vary by School Neighborhood Socioeconomic Advantage? (2017). PLOS ONE. Sanchez-Vaznaugh, E. V., et al.
- Policies for Promotion of Physical Activity and Prevention of Obesity in Adolescence. (2016). Journal of Exercise Science and Fitness. Pate, R. R., et al.
- Sedentary Behaviors and Youth: Current Trends and the Impact on Health. (2014). Active Living Research. Lou, D.
- The 2022 United States Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth. Physical Activity Alliance.
- The Influence of Physical Activity, Sedentary Behavior on Health-Related Quality of Life Among the General Population of Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review. (2017). PLOS ONE. Wu, X. Y., et al.
- County/Regional Reports
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- 2023 California County Scorecard of Children's Well-Being. Children Now.
- Annual Report on the Conditions of Children in Orange County. Orange County Children's Partnership.
- Community Health Profiles. Los Angeles County Dept. of Public Health.
- Important Facts About Kern’s Children. Kern County Network for Children.
- San Mateo County All Together Better. San Mateo County Health.
- Santa Clara County Children's Data Book. Santa Clara County Office of Education, et al.
- Santa Clara County Public Health Department: Open Data Portal
- Santa Monica Youth Wellbeing Report Card. Santa Monica Cradle to Career.
- More Data Sources For Physical Fitness
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- California Health Interview Survey. UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.
- California School Climate, Health, and Learning Surveys Public Dashboards. WestEd & California Dept. of Education.
- County Health Rankings and Roadmaps. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation & University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.
- DataQuest. California Dept. of Education.
- Education Data Partnership (Ed-Data) California Dept. of Education, et al.
- Health, United States – Data Finder. National Center for Health Statistics.
- National Survey of Children's Health. Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative.
- NHANES National Youth Fitness Survey. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity: Data, Trends, and Maps. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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