What does this measure?

The share of adults who did not engage in leisure-time physical activity within the past 30 days, such as running, calisthenics, golf, gardening or walking, as reported through a national survey.

Why is this important?

Active adults are likely to be healthier than their inactive counterparts, leading to a higher quality of life and lower long-term health costs.

How is our county performing?

In 2016-18, 25% of adults in Berks and Schuylkill counties had not engaged in leisure-time physical activity within the past 30 days. This percentage was slightly higher than Pennsylvania and the nation (both 24%), but down three percentage points from the previous three-year average and the lowest since the 2011-13 period. The percentage at the state and national levels were relatively flat from 2011-13 to 2016-18.

Berks and Schuylkill counties' percentage of inactive adults in 2016-18 was similar to Carbon, Lehigh, and Northampton counties (22%) and larger than Chester (16%) and Montgomery (18%) counties, but smaller than Dauphin and Lebanon (27%) and Lancaster (26%) counties.

Notes about the data

Data come from a federal government survey designed to collect scientific data on health risks and behaviors. The data reported are for moving three-year averages. Berks and Schuylkill county data is combined by the survey and reported together. Similarly, Dauphin and Lebanon counties and Carbon, Lehigh, and Northampton counties are reported as groups of counties.

Beginning in 2011, the Centers for Disease Control made two changes to the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System on which this indicator is based. The survey now includes cell-phone users, and a new statistical method is used to weight responses. As a result, changes from 2010 and years prior to 2011 and later may be a result of those technical changes rather than true trends.

There may be additional research available on this topic. Click on Reports and Resources to learn more.