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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

Increase the proportion of adults who walk or bike to get places — PA‑10 Data Methodology and Measurement

On this page:  About the National Data  |  Methodology  |  History

About the National Data

Data

Data Source:  National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), CDC/NCHS

Baseline: 22.5 percent of adults aged 18 years and over walked or used a bicycle to get to and from places in 2013-16

Target: 26.8 percent

Numerator
Number of adults aged 18 years and over who reported they walk or use a bicycle for at least 10 minutes continuously to get to and from places in a usual week.
Denominator
Number of adults aged 18 years and over.
Target-setting method
Percentage point improvement
Target-setting method details
Percentage point improvement from the baseline using Cohen's h effect size of 0.10.
1
Target-setting method justification
Trend data were not available for this objective. A percentage point improvement was calculated using Cohen's h effect size of 0.1. This method was used because it was a statistically significant improvement from the baseline and the Healthy People 2030 Workgroup Subject Matter Experts expected the data to move in the desired direction during the next decade.

Methodology

Questions used to obtain the national baseline data

(For additional information, please visit the data source page linked above.)

From the 2013-16 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey:

Numerator:
The next questions exclude the physical activity at work that you have already mentioned. Now I would like to ask you about the usual way you travel to and from places. For example to school, for shopping, to work. In a typical week do you walk or use a bicycle for at least 10 minutes continuously to get to and from places?
  1. Yes
  2. No
  3. Refused
  4. Don't know

Methodology notes

Adults who answered "refused" or "don't know" were counted as missing and were excluded from the denominator. Age-adjusted for the following age groups (18-39, 40-59, 60+ years).

Age-adjustment notes

This Indicator uses Age-Adjustment Groups:

  • Total: 18-39, 40-59, 60+
  • Sex: 18-39, 40-59, 60+
  • Race/Ethnicity: 18-39, 40-59, 60+
  • Educational Attainment: 25-39, 40-59, 60+
  • Family Income (percent poverty threshold): 18-39, 40-59, 60+
  • Country of Birth: 18-39, 40-59, 60+
  • Activity limitations: 18-39, 40-59, 60+
  • Health Insurance Status: 18-39, 40-59, 60+
  • Marital Status: 20-39, 40-59, 60+
  • Obesity Status: 20-39, 40-59, 60+
  • Veteran Status: 20-39, 40-59, 60+

History

Comparable HP2020 objective
Modified, which includes core objectives that are continuing from Healthy People 2020 but underwent a change in measurement.
Changes between HP2020 and HP2030
This objective differs from the related Healthy People 2020 objectives in that objectives PA-13.1 and PA-14.1 used data from the National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) to track walking trips of 1 mile or less and bicycling trips of 5 miles or less, respectively, made by adults aged 18 years and over. This objective uses data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to track adults who walk or use a bicycle for at least 10 minutes continuously to get to and from places such as to school, for shopping, to work.

1. Effect size h=0.1 was chosen to correspond with 10% improvement from a baseline of 50%.