Home exercise sits within a broader physical-activity landscape: surveys often measure leisure activity or time use rather than whether exercise happened at home. The figures below therefore distinguish global inactivity estimates, U.S. participation and walking surveys, equipment spending, and one small home-based intervention study.
Key Home Exercise Statistics
The most useful headline figures are:
- 31% of adults worldwide, or about 1.8 billion people, did not meet recommended physical-activity levels in 2022.
- Worldwide adult inactivity prevalence increased by about 5 percentage points between 2010 and 2022.
- WHO projected adult physical inactivity could reach 35% worldwide by 2030 if the trend continued.
- WHO recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity per week for adults.
- 47.2% of U.S. adults aged 18 and older met federal leisure-time aerobic-activity guidelines in 2024.
- 52.3% of U.S. men and 42.4% of U.S. women met those U.S. guidelines in 2024.
- 54.0% of U.S. adults aged 18–34 met the guidelines in 2024, compared with 38.4% of adults aged 65 and older.
- 56.5% of U.S. adults at 400% of the federal poverty level or higher met the guidelines in 2024.
- 58.5% of U.S. adults with a bachelor’s degree or higher met the guidelines in 2024.
- 51.5% of U.S. adults in large central metropolitan areas met the guidelines in 2024.
- 58.7% of U.S. adults walked for leisure during the seven days before the 2022 NHIS interview.
- 67.2% of U.S. adults at 400% of the federal poverty level or higher walked for leisure in the prior seven days in 2022.
- U.S. people aged 15 and older spent an average of 0.31 hours per day on sports, exercise and recreation in 2024.
- 21.5% of U.S. people aged 15 and older participated in sports, exercise and recreation on an average day in 2024.
- Average U.S. consumer-unit spending on the combined athletic-gear, game-table and exercise-equipment category reached $111.80 in 2021.
- The home-based feasibility study recorded 60.9% average exercise adherence across participants during its six-month program.
Contents
- Global physical activity scale and trends
- U.S. home exercise participation statistics
- Income, education, place and health gaps
- Walking and accessible exercise behavior
- Time spent on exercise and recreation
- Home exercise equipment spending
- Adherence in a home-based exercise program
Global Physical Activity Scale and Trends
The World Health Organization’s worldwide estimate provides context for home exercise without measuring home location directly. In 2022, 31% of adults worldwide—about 1.8 billion people—did not meet recommended physical-activity levels.
WHO also estimated that adult inactivity prevalence rose by about 5 percentage points from 2010 to 2022. If that trend continued, the organization projected inactivity could reach 35% worldwide by 2030; this is a forecast, not an observed result.
| Measure | Figure | Scope and period |
|---|---|---|
| Adults below recommended activity levels | 31% | Worldwide adults, 2022 |
| Estimated people below recommended levels | About 1.8 billion | Worldwide adults, 2022 |
| Change in inactivity prevalence | About 5 percentage points | Worldwide adults, 2010–2022 |
| Projected inactivity | 35% | Worldwide adults, 2030 forecast |
WHO’s adult guideline is at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity per week, or an equivalent combination. The guideline is a threshold for recommended activity, not a prevalence estimate and not a home-exercise-only measure. WHO, “Nearly 1.8 billion adults at risk of disease from not doing enough physical activity”
U.S. Home Exercise Participation Statistics
The 2024 National Health Interview Survey measured self-reported leisure-time aerobic activity among U.S. adults aged 18 and older. It did not identify whether activity occurred at home, outdoors or in another setting, so these figures are useful participation context rather than direct home-exercise counts.
- In 2024, 47.2% of U.S. adults aged 18 and older met federal leisure-time aerobic-activity guidelines.
- Guideline attainment was 52.3% among men and 42.4% among women.
- By age, attainment was 54.0% for adults aged 18–34, 49.8% for ages 35–49, 44.6% for ages 50–64, and 38.4% for adults aged 65 and older.
The age pattern matters for interpreting home exercise equipment and routines: the survey describes whether adults reached the aerobic threshold, not which exercise mode they used or where they exercised. CDC/NCHS, “Aerobic Physical Activity Among Adults Age 18 and Older: United States, 2024”
Income, Education, Place and Health Gaps
Participation varied substantially across socioeconomic, racial and geographic groups in the same 2024 U.S. survey. These are survey estimates for leisure-time aerobic activity, not evidence that a particular group exercises at home more or less often.
| U.S. adult group | Met aerobic guidelines, 2024 |
|---|---|
| Non-Hispanic White | 49.2% |
| Non-Hispanic Asian | 47.9% |
| Hispanic | 43.8% |
| Non-Hispanic Black | 41.4% |
| Below 100% of federal poverty level | 35.4% |
| 100% to below 200% FPL | 36.7% |
| 200% to below 400% FPL | 43.8% |
| 400% FPL or higher | 56.5% |
| Less than high-school diploma or GED | 32.3% |
| Bachelor’s degree or higher | 58.5% |
Geography and urbanization also showed differences. Guideline attainment was 51.9% in the U.S. West versus 44.1% in the South, while it was 51.5% in large central metropolitan areas versus 40.2% in nonmetropolitan areas.
These comparisons identify measured gaps, but they do not establish why they occur or isolate access to home equipment, space, time or internet services. CDC/NCHS, “Aerobic Physical Activity Among Adults Age 18 and Older: United States, 2024”
Walking and Accessible Exercise Behavior
Walking is one of the most accessible exercise behaviors measured in the supplied U.S. data, although the 2022 NHIS did not identify whether walking happened at home. 58.7% of U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized adults reported walking for leisure during the seven days before their interview.
| Group or walking purpose | Walked in prior seven days, 2022 |
|---|---|
| Adults aged 18–44, leisure | 61.8% |
| Adults aged 45–64, leisure | 59.1% |
| Adults aged 65+, leisure | 51.6% |
| Women, leisure | 60.5% |
| Men, leisure | 56.9% |
| Non-Hispanic Black adults, leisure | 49.2% |
| Non-Hispanic Asian adults, leisure | 63.8% |
| All adults, transportation | 16.2% |
Income and education differences were also visible in walking. Leisure walking was 46.9% among adults below 100% FPL versus 67.2% among adults at 400% FPL or higher, while it was 43.7% among adults without a high-school diploma or GED versus 71.2% among adults with a bachelor’s degree or higher.
Transportation walking was reported by 20.9% of adults aged 18–44, compared with 10.3% of adults aged 65 and older. These measures count any reported walking in the prior seven days and should not be treated as weekly minutes or home-location statistics. CDC/NCHS, “Walking and Transportation Activity Among Adults: United States, 2022”
Time Spent on Exercise and Recreation
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2024 American Time Use Survey measured primary activities in time diaries for the U.S. civilian noninstitutional population aged 15 and older. It found an annual average of 0.31 hours per day spent participating in sports, exercise and recreation.
On an average day, 21.5% of people aged 15 and older participated in those activities. Among participants, average time was 1.46 hours per day.
These figures do not identify whether the activity took place at home.
| Population or day type | Average time or participation, 2024 |
|---|---|
| All people aged 15+, average time | 0.31 hours per day |
| All people aged 15+, participating on an average day | 21.5% |
| Participants, average time | 1.46 hours per day |
| Men, average time | 0.38 hours per day |
| Women, average time | 0.25 hours per day |
| Ages 15–19, average time | 0.64 hours per day |
| Ages 75+, average time | 0.27 hours per day |
| Weekdays, participation | 22.5% |
| Weekend days and holidays, participation | 19.1% |
The BLS measure captures sports, exercise and recreation as a primary activity, so it is not interchangeable with the NHIS guideline measure or a count of home workouts. BLS, “American Time Use Survey News Release – 2024 A01 Results”
Home Exercise Equipment Spending
BLS consumer-expenditure data show spending in a combined category that includes athletic gear, game tables, wearable trackers, treadmills, stationary bicycles, weights and other home-gym equipment. Because the category is broader than home exercise alone, its values should not be read as dedicated home-exercise spending.
| Year | Average spending per U.S. consumer unit |
|---|---|
| 2013 | $36.33 |
| 2017 | $55.97 |
| 2019 | $41.30 |
| 2020 | $54.53 |
| 2021 | $111.80 |
The share of consumer units reporting spending in this combined category was 1.7% in 2020 and 1.6% in 2021. Those reporting shares and dollar averages describe the BLS category as defined, not ownership of a treadmill or any other individual product. BLS, “Consumer expenditures for athletic gear, game tables, and exercise equipment doubled in 2021”
Adherence in a Home-Based Exercise Program
A feasibility study in Groningen province, Netherlands, examined a tablet-guided home program for 40 independently living, transitionally frail adults with a mean age of 81 years. Recruitment took place in 2014 among community-dwelling adults aged 70 and older, so the results are not population prevalence.
The program offered 18 strength-and-balance levels, progressing from 10 minutes to about 45 minutes per session. Participants were asked to exercise five times per week, but the prescribed schedule should not be confused with observed adherence.
Only 21 of the 40 participants completed the six-month program during the 2014–2015 follow-up. Average adherence was 60.9%, equivalent to about three exercise bouts per week across all participants.
Among completers, adherence was 69.2%, or about 3.5 bouts per week; among dropouts, it was 49.9%, or about 2.5 bouts per week. This comparison is subject to attrition bias, and the study’s small, selected frail-older-adult sample limits generalization to home exercisers overall. CDC Preventing Chronic Disease, “A Home-Based Exercise Program Driven by Tablet Application and Mobility Monitoring for Frail Older Adults”