Women’s fitness is measured in several ways, including aerobic activity, muscle-strengthening sessions, walking and participation in interventions. The figures below focus mainly on noninstitutionalized U.S. women aged 18–44 in 2022 and 2024, with additional 2022 walking data and a New Zealand trial of women aged 40–74.
Key Women’s Fitness Statistics
The most useful headline figures are:
- In 2022 and 2024, 47.2% of U.S. women aged 18–44 met neither the aerobic nor muscle-strengthening leisure-time guideline.
- In 2022 and 2024, 25.1% of U.S. women aged 18–44 met both activity guidelines.
- In 2022 and 2024, 21.7% of U.S. women aged 18–44 met the aerobic guideline only.
- In 2022 and 2024, 6.1% of U.S. women aged 18–44 met the muscle-strengthening guideline only.
- In 2022 and 2024, 53.6% of non-Hispanic Black U.S. women aged 18–44 met neither guideline.
- In 2022 and 2024, 27.6% of non-Hispanic White U.S. women aged 18–44 met both guidelines.
- In 2022 and 2024, 51.9% of Hispanic or Latino U.S. women aged 18–44 met neither guideline.
- In 2022 and 2024, 51.5% of non-Hispanic Asian U.S. women aged 18–44 met neither guideline.
- In 2022 and 2024, 52.4% of non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native women aged 18–44 met neither guideline.
- In 2022 and 2024, 27.8% of U.S. women aged 18–24 met both guidelines.
- In 2022 and 2024, 48.7% of U.S. women aged 40–44 met neither guideline.
- In 2022 and 2024, 34.0% of U.S. women aged 18–44 with a graduate or professional degree met both guidelines.
- In 2022 and 2024, 63.2% of U.S. women aged 18–44 with less than high school education met neither guideline.
- In 2022, 60.5% of U.S. women walked for leisure during the previous seven days.
- In 2022, 15.0% of U.S. women walked for transportation during the previous seven days.
- At baseline in a two-year New Zealand trial, 10% of intervention participants and 11% of controls met 150 minutes of moderate activity weekly.
- At 12 months in that trial, 43% of intervention participants and 30% of controls met the 150-minute threshold.
- At 24 months in that trial, 39.3% of intervention participants and 32.8% of controls met the 150-minute threshold.
Contents
- Key Women’s Fitness Statistics
- How Many Women Meet Aerobic and Strength Guidelines?
- Women’s Fitness Data by Race and Ethnicity
- Women’s Fitness Trends by Age
- Women’s Fitness Statistics by Education
- Walking and Everyday Activity Among Women
- What Women’s Fitness Trials Show About Outcomes and Adherence
How Many Women Meet Aerobic and Strength Guidelines?
The CDC’s Leisure-Time Physical Activity Among Women of Reproductive Age — United States, 2022 and 2024 combines two NHIS years to improve precision. It covers noninstitutionalized U.S. civilian women aged 18–44 and uses self-reported leisure-time activity.
The categories are mutually defined using at least 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous aerobic activity and at least two muscle-strengthening sessions per week:
| Activity category | U.S. women aged 18–44, 2022 and 2024 |
|---|---|
| Met neither guideline | 47.2% |
| Met both guidelines | 25.1% |
| Met aerobic guideline only | 21.7% |
| Met strength guideline only | 6.1% |
Source: CDC, “Leisure-Time Physical Activity Among Women of Reproductive Age — United States, 2022 and 2024”.
These figures describe reported leisure-time activity, not every form of movement during work, caregiving or transportation. Meeting the aerobic guideline without the strength guideline was more common than meeting the strength guideline without the aerobic guideline in this age range.
Women’s Fitness Data by Race and Ethnicity
The same CDC estimates show differences across race and ethnicity categories among U.S. women aged 18–44. Each measure is self-reported and refers to the same 2022-and-2024 pooled period.
| Group | Neither | Both | Aerobic only | Strength only |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Non-Hispanic AI/AN | 52.4% | 21.2% | 15.6% | 10.9% |
| Non-Hispanic Asian | 51.5% | 20.4% | 22.2% | 6.0% |
| Non-Hispanic Black | 53.6% | 21.4% | 18.0% | 7.0% |
| Non-Hispanic White | 42.7% | 27.6% | 24.2% | 5.5% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 51.9% | 23.4% | 18.5% | 6.2% |
Source: CDC, “Leisure-Time Physical Activity Among Women of Reproductive Age — United States, 2022 and 2024”.
The American Indian or Alaska Native estimate came from a small unweighted subgroup of 192 respondents and has wide confidence intervals. That limitation matters when interpreting its 52.4% neither-guideline estimate and the other subgroup percentages.
Women’s Fitness Trends by Age
Across the five age bands within the U.S. 18–44 population, the reported share meeting neither guideline ranged from 44.4% to 49.2%. The share meeting both guidelines ranged from 22.7% to 27.8%.
| Age | Neither | Both | Aerobic only | Strength only |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18–24 | 44.4% | 27.8% | 22.0% | 5.7% |
| 25–29 | 46.1% | 26.2% | 22.0% | 5.7% |
| 30–34 | 49.2% | 23.2% | 20.7% | 6.9% |
| 35–39 | 48.6% | 24.2% | 21.2% | 6.1% |
| 40–44 | 48.7% | 22.7% | 22.6% | 6.0% |
Source: CDC, “Leisure-Time Physical Activity Among Women of Reproductive Age — United States, 2022 and 2024”.
The age results are descriptive survey estimates rather than a longitudinal track of the same women. They should not be read as proof that an individual’s activity necessarily changes in the displayed direction with age.
Women’s Fitness Statistics by Education
Educational attainment shows a clearer separation in the CDC table. Among U.S. women aged 18–44, the reported share meeting neither guideline was 63.2% for those with less than high school education and 37.7% for those with a graduate or professional degree.
| Education | Neither | Both |
|---|---|---|
| Less than high school | 63.2% | 13.2% |
| High school diploma or GED | 56.3% | 17.1% |
| Some college or associate degree | 46.6% | 24.5% |
| Bachelor’s degree | 38.0% | 33.4% |
| Graduate or professional degree | 37.7% | 34.0% |
Source: CDC, “Leisure-Time Physical Activity Among Women of Reproductive Age — United States, 2022 and 2024”.
The education categories are population groups, not explanations of why activity differs. The estimates remain self-reported leisure-time measures and use the same aerobic and muscle-strengthening thresholds.
Walking and Everyday Activity Among Women
The CDC’s 2022 walking data measures whether respondents walked for leisure or transportation during the previous seven days. Among U.S. women, 60.5% reported leisure walking, while 15.0% reported transportation walking.
Source: CDC NCHS, “Walking for Transportation or Leisure: United States, 2022”.
Walking in the previous seven days is not equivalent to meeting the federal aerobic guideline because the walking measure does not establish the required duration, intensity or weekly pattern. The same report gives an all-sex comparison by age: 61.8% of U.S. adults aged 18–44, 59.1% of adults aged 45–64 and 51.6% of adults aged 65 and older walked for leisure during the previous seven days.
Those age-group figures are not women-only estimates. They provide context for the walking measure but should not be substituted for the sex-specific 60.5% leisure-walking figure.
What Women’s Fitness Trials Show About Outcomes and Adherence
Population surveys describe reported activity at one point or pooled period, while trials can compare an intervention with a control group over time. A two-year randomized trial recruited New Zealand women aged 40–74 through primary care and evaluated an exercise-prescription intervention.
| Trial point | Intervention | Control |
|---|---|---|
| Baseline meeting 150 minutes of moderate activity weekly | 10% | 11% |
| 12 months | 43% | 30% |
| 24 months | 39.3% | 32.8% |
The trial retained 93% of participants at 12 months and 89% at 24 months. Retention is a trial-specific measure and is not a national participation rate.
The intervention group had more falls, with P<0.001, and more injuries, with P=0.03. The abstract reports statistical significance but not the event counts here, so these findings should be interpreted as results within this intervention trial rather than population injury rates.
An older CDC-authored analysis provides a separate historical strength-training benchmark: 17.5% of U.S. women reported strength training at least twice weekly in 2004, compared with 21.9% of men. The reported difference was 4.4 percentage points, calculated from those age-adjusted estimates.
Source: PubMed, “Trends in strength training–United States, 1998-2004”.
The 2004 result is an older self-reported benchmark and should not be presented as a current national estimate. Together, the survey and trial evidence show why women’s fitness statistics need their measurement year, population, threshold and study design stated alongside the percentage.