Physical Activity - Statistics & Facts
Amongst the most popular outdoor activities in the United States are hiking, camping, biking, fishing and running & jogging. More than 50 million people participated in hiking and more than 60 million people participated in running, jogging and trail running in 2019. In 2019, 59.1 percent of Gen Z (2000+) respondents stated that they participated in outdoor activities, making them the generation with the highest participation.
High school sports are an important part of sports culture in the U.S. About 4.53 million male students participated in some high school sports program in the 2018/19 school year, with football being the most popular sport with more than one million participants. Total participation of female students was at around 3.4 million in 2018/19. Track and field was the sport with the most participants with almost 488 thousand participants. Volleyball was similarly popular with more than 450 thousand participants in 2019.