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North Carolina Value:
Percentage of adults who met the federal physical activity guidelines (150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity and two days of muscle strengthening per week) in the past 30 days
North Carolina Rank:
Percentage of adults who met the federal physical activity guidelines (150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity and two days of muscle strengthening per week) in the past 30 days
38.3% - 31.9%
31.8% - 31.0%
30.9% - 30.0%
29.9% - 26.9%
26.8% - 20.6%
No Data
US Value: 30.4 %
Top State(s): Colorado: 35.4 %
Bottom State(s): West Virginia: 20.6 %
Definition: Percentage of adults who met the federal physical activity guidelines (150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity and two days of muscle strengthening per week) in the past 30 days
Data Source and Years(s): U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2023
Suggested Citation: America's Health Rankings analysis of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, United Health Foundation, AmericasHealthRankings.org, accessed 2026.
Being physically active and reducing sedentary behavior has many health benefits. Regular physical activity (at least 150 minutes a week) is associated with reduced risk of: cardiovascular diseases such as heart disease, stroke and hypertension; Type 2 diabetes; certain cancers including bladder, breast and colon cancer; dementia; anxiety and depression; and mortality from influenza and pneumonia.
Key physical activity guidelines for adults include:
Getting more exercise is associated with lower health care expenditures. According to a 2021 study, health care expenditures are lower for those who maintain moderate or high physical activity throughout adulthood, as well as for those who increase physical activity in middle age, compared with adults who are consistently physically inactive.
According to America’s Health Rankings analysis, the prevalence of exercise (sufficient to meet aerobic and muscle strengthening guidelines) is higher among:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has several recommendations for community efforts to increase physical activity, including built environment approaches to make it easier for people to walk, run, bike, skate or use wheelchairs to get to where they need to go.
The Community Preventive Services Task Force recommends combining interventions to increase physical activity, finding there to be increased benefit when implementing infrastructure interventions (such as parks, trails and greenways) in tandem with interventions such as community engagement, awareness campaigns, structured classes and expanding hours or means of accessing these spaces.
Community-wide campaigns to encourage physical activity have been successful in increasing exercise levels and improving fitness among adults and children. These may include activities like walking clubs held in public spaces and workplaces, community health fairs with activity coaching, or support groups.
Healthy People 2030 has several objectives focused on increasing the proportion of adults who do enough physical activity.
Coughlan, Diarmuid, Pedro F Saint-Maurice, Susan A Carlson, Janet Fulton, and Charles E Matthews. “Leisure Time Physical Activity throughout Adulthood Is Associated with Lower Medicare Costs: Evidence from the Linked NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study Cohort.” BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine 7, no. 1 (March 5, 2021): e001038. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjsem-2021-001038.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd Edition. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2018. https://health.gov/sites/default/files/2019-09/Physical_Activity_Guidelines_2nd_edition.pdf.
Valero-Elizondo, Javier, Joseph A. Salami, Chukwuemeka U. Osondu, Oluseye Ogunmoroti, Alejandro Arrieta, Erica S. Spatz, Adnan Younus, et al. “Economic Impact of Moderate-Vigorous Physical Activity Among Those With and Without Established Cardiovascular Disease: 2012 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.” Journal of the American Heart Association 5, no. 9 (August 29, 2016). https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.116.003614.
Webber, Bryant J., Heather C. Yun, and Geoffrey P. Whitfield. “Leisure-Time Physical Activity and Mortality from Influenza and Pneumonia: A Cohort Study of 577 909 US Adults.” British Journal of Sports Medicine 57, no. 19 (May 16, 2023): 1231–37.https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2022-106644.
America’s Health Rankings builds on the work of the United Health Foundation to draw attention to public health and better understand the health of various populations. Our platform provides relevant information that policymakers, public health officials, advocates and leaders can use to effect change in their communities.
We have developed detailed analyses on the health of key populations in the country, including women and children, seniors and those who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces, in addition to a deep dive into health disparities across the country.
