Treadmill statistics span several different questions: how many people meet activity guidelines, how treadmill movement differs from walking or running outdoors, what treadmill desks change, and what controlled trials report about fitness, falls, prices and safety. The figures below identify their population, geography, measurement period and study design so survey estimates are not confused with laboratory or clinical findings.
Key Treadmill Statistics
The most broadly useful figures are:
- In 2024, 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 aged 18 and older met federal leisure-time aerobic-activity guidelines.
- In 2024, 42.4% of U.S. women aged 18 and older met federal leisure-time aerobic-activity guidelines.
- In 2024, 54.0% of U.S. adults aged 18–34 met federal leisure-time aerobic-activity guidelines.
- In 2024, 38.4% of U.S. adults aged 65 and older met federal leisure-time aerobic-activity guidelines.
- From 2009–2015, 18.1% of Americans aged 15 and older participated in sports and exercise on an average day.
- From 2009–2015, 9.1% of sports-and-exercise participants used cardiovascular equipment on an average day.
- In 2025, 23.4% of the U.S. population covered by ATUS participated in sports, exercise and recreation on an average day.
- In healthy adults in included crossover studies, treadmill walking had higher relative oxygen consumption than overground walking, with a standardized mean difference of 0.38.
- In healthy adults in included crossover studies, treadmill walking had a shorter step length than overground walking, with a standardized mean difference of −0.52.
- In adults with sedentary occupations in included laboratory studies, treadmill-desk use increased energy expenditure by 105.23 kcal per hour versus sitting.
- In the same treadmill-desk evidence base, workplace treadmill-desk use reduced sitting time by 1.73 minutes per hour over 24 hours versus a conventional desk.
- In a 12-week trial of physically inactive overweight or obese adults, pooled VO2max increased by 3.6 mL O2/kg/min.
- In that trial, pooled body weight decreased by 1.2 kg after 12 weeks.
- In a five-country trial of high-fall-risk adults aged 60–90, treadmill-plus-VR training produced a post-training fall incident-rate ratio of 0.58 versus treadmill-only training.
- Six months after training in that trial, the treadmill-plus-VR group had 6.00 falls per six months.
- A January 2026 U.S. CPSC recall covered about 47,000 Matrix Retail and Vision treadmills.
- The recalled treadmills sold in the United States from April 2012 through May 2025 for $2,100–$8,100 per treadmill.
Contents
- Key Treadmill Statistics
- U.S. Aerobic Activity Statistics
- American Walking, Running and Cardiovascular-Equipment Data
- Treadmill Versus Overground Walking and Running
- Treadmill-Desk Statistics for Sedentary Work
- Treadmill Training, Fitness and Body-Composition Outcomes
- Treadmill Balance and Fall Statistics
- Treadmill Prices, Recall Scale and Reported Safety Events
U.S. Aerobic Activity Statistics
The CDC’s 2024 National Health Interview Survey measures reported leisure-time aerobic activity among U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized adults aged 18 and older. It does not identify treadmill use specifically, and its percentages should not be added together.
| 2024 U.S. adult group | Meeting guideline |
|---|---|
| All adults 18+ | 47.2% |
| Men | 52.3% |
| Women | 42.4% |
| Age 18–34 | 54.0% |
| Age 35–49 | 49.8% |
| Age 50–64 | 44.6% |
| Age 65+ | 38.4% |
Source: CDC, “DB555: Aerobic Physical Activity Among Adults Age 18 and Older: United States, 2024”.
The same 2024 survey reported 49.2% for non-Hispanic White adults, 47.9% for non-Hispanic Asian adults, 43.8% for Hispanic adults and 41.4% for non-Hispanic Black adults. By education, the figures were 32.3% for adults with less than a high-school diploma or GED, 38.6% for those with a high-school diploma or GED, 47.4% for those with an associate degree or some college, and 58.5% for those with a bachelor’s degree or higher.
Regional results were 51.9% in the West, 48.4% in the Northeast, 46.4% in the Midwest and 44.1% in the South. These are survey estimates of leisure-time guideline attainment, not ownership, usage frequency or treadmill-specific participation.
American Walking, Running and Cardiovascular-Equipment Data
The Bureau of Labor Statistics American Time Use Survey provides a different lens: participation in activities on an average day. From 2009–2015, 18.1% of people aged 15 and older participated in sports and exercise on an average day.
Among those sports-and-exercise participants, walking for exercise accounted for 30.0%, cardiovascular equipment for 9.1% and running for 8.6%. The categories are selected-activity shares and are not mutually exclusive, while cardiovascular equipment does not isolate treadmills from other machines.
Source: BLS, “Sports and Exercise Activities”.
For a newer aggregate reference, BLS reported that 23.4% of Americans participated in sports, exercise and recreation on an average day in 2025. This aggregate ATUS category does not identify treadmills, so it should not be read as a treadmill-adoption rate.
Treadmill Versus Overground Walking and Running
Controlled comparisons show that a treadmill is a standardized movement environment, not a perfect substitute for every outdoor condition. A systematic review of healthy adults, with searches through September 2022, found higher relative oxygen consumption on a treadmill, with a standardized mean difference of 0.38 and a 95% confidence interval of 0.14–0.63.
The review also found higher cadence, with a standardized mean difference of 0.22 (95% CI 0.06–0.38), shorter stride length at −0.36 (95% CI −0.62 to −0.11), and shorter step length at −0.52 (95% CI −0.98 to −0.06). These are review effects among included healthy-adult studies, not population averages.
Source: Systematic review of treadmill and overground walking.
| Running comparison | Treadmill minus overground | Period and interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| Submaximal oxygen consumption at 0% grade | −0.55 ± 0.93 mL/kg/min | Review through May 2018 |
| Submaximal oxygen consumption at 1% grade | 0.37 ± 1.12 mL/kg/min | Review through May 2018 |
| Near-maximal oxygen consumption | −1.25 ± 2.09 mL/kg/min | Review through May 2018 |
| Near-maximal heart rate | 0 ± 1 beats/min | Review through May 2018 |
| Near-maximal perceived exertion | −0.4 ± 2.0 RPE units | 6–20 scale |
| Sprint performance | −1.4 ± 5.8 km/h | Nonsignificant review difference |
The running values come from a 34-study crossover review of healthy adults, with searches through May 2018. At 0% grade, blood lactate was 1.26 ± 0.71 mmol/L lower on the treadmill; at 1% grade it was 0.52 ± 0.50 mmol/L lower.
Source: Systematic review and meta-analysis of treadmill and overground running.
A separate randomized crossover study of healthy young adults, published in 2025, found faster cadence and shorter average step and stride lengths on the treadmill, with a large gait-parameter effect (partial eta-squared 0.90; p<0.001). It also found higher gross and net energy expenditure and metabolic costs across tested speeds (p<0.001; partial eta-squared 0.60), but the small selected sample and controlled speeds limit generalizability.
Source: 2025 randomized crossover study of treadmill and overground walking.
Treadmill-Desk Statistics for Sedentary Work
A systematic review and meta-analysis of 13 studies examined treadmill desks among adults with sedentary occupations. In laboratory conditions, pooled treadmill-desk use increased energy expenditure by 105.23 kcal per hour versus sitting (95% CI 90.41–120.4) and increased metabolic rate by 5.0 mL/kg/min (95% CI 3.35–6.64).
In workplace conditions, treadmill-desk use reduced sitting time by 1.73 minutes per hour over 24 hours compared with a conventional desk (95% CI −3.3 to −0.17). The review reported zero statistically significant pooled blood-pressure differences between treadmill-desk and comparison conditions.
Source: Systematic review of treadmill desks, energy expenditure, sitting time and cardiometabolic health.
These are pooled findings from heterogeneous review samples rather than a representative workforce estimate. The distinction matters when interpreting the hourly energy figure: it describes a laboratory comparison, not a guaranteed daily calorie difference for every desk user.
Treadmill Training, Fitness and Body-Composition Outcomes
A 12-week randomized trial studied physically inactive overweight or obese adults and pooled land- and underwater-treadmill groups. At baseline, participants had a mean age of 44 years, mean body mass of 90.5 kg, mean BMI of 30.5 kg/m² and mean VO2max of 27.1 mL O2/kg/min.
After 12 weeks, pooled outcomes changed as follows:
- VO2max increased by 3.6 mL O2/kg/min.
- Body weight decreased by 1.2 kg.
- BMI decreased by 0.56 kg/m².
- Body-fat percentage decreased by 1.3 percentage points.
Source: Comparative efficacy of water and land treadmill training for overweight or obese adults.
The trial describes outcomes in its selected participants and combined two treadmill settings. These changes should therefore be read as trial results over 12 weeks, not as expected results for every treadmill user or as a national weight-loss estimate.
Treadmill Balance and Fall Statistics
The V-TIME randomized controlled trial examined high-fall-risk adults aged 60–90 in five countries. Its intervention combined treadmill training with a non-immersive virtual-reality component; the results do not equal treadmill-alone effects.
Modified intention-to-treat data were available for 282 of 302 participants, or 93%. Before training, the treadmill-only group recorded 10.7 falls per six months (SD 35.6), while the treadmill-plus-VR group recorded 11.9 falls per six months (SD 39.5).
| Group | Falls per six months after training | Measurement |
|---|---|---|
| Treadmill plus VR | 6.00 (95% CI 4.36–8.25) | Six-month follow-up |
| Treadmill only | 8.27 (95% CI 5.55–12.31) | Six-month follow-up |
The post-training fall incident-rate ratio for treadmill-plus-VR versus treadmill-only was 0.58 (95% CI 0.36–0.96). Because this was a selected clinical sample and the intervention included VR, it is evidence about that trial design rather than a general fall-prevention rate for home treadmills.
Source: V-TIME randomized controlled trial.
Treadmill Prices, Recall Scale and Reported Safety Events
Product data are narrower than activity and clinical data. A January 22, 2026 U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission notice expanded a recall to about 47,000 Matrix Retail and Vision treadmills.
| Recall detail | Reported figure |
|---|---|
| Units covered | About 47,000 treadmills |
| Sales period | April 2012–May 2025 |
| Reported sale price | $2,100–$8,100 per treadmill |
| Overheating reports | 27 |
| Injuries reported by the firm | 0 |
The firm reported 27 overheating reports at the recalled power-cord/socket connection and no injuries. The recall count is not a national ownership estimate, and the reported events are not an injury rate.
Taken together, the available treadmill statistics describe several scales of evidence: national surveys measure activity, crossover reviews measure physiological and gait differences, trials measure selected outcomes, and a recall notice measures one product-safety event. None of these sources alone provides a direct national treadmill-ownership total or a market-size forecast.