Exercise-related PA among Chinese children and adolescents increased between 2020 and 2022, with persistent disparities by gender, income, and urban-rural residence, though the 2020 questionnaire change limits interpretation of the 2018-2020 difference.
Unadjusted weighted average daily exercise-related PA time rose slightly from 2014 to 2018, but this small difference was not robust in sensitivity analyses.
Exercise-related PA increased substantially between 2020 and 2022.
The 2020 questionnaire change limits interpretation of the 2018-2020 difference.
Boys were consistently more active than girls throughout the study period, though the size of the gender difference varied by wave.
The primary analysis did not support changing disparities over time by school level, urban-rural residence, or income.
Children from higher-income families and urban residents had higher adjusted odds of reporting ≥60 min/day of exercise-related PA.
The authors conclude that policies should keep promoting PA, especially among low-income children, and use demographic-specific strategies against persistent inequalities.
This study used a large national survey in China (the China Family Panel Studies) to look at how much exercise children and adolescents aged 10-18 reported between 2014 and 2022. It included about 16,000 observations from nearly 8,000 young people. Exercise time was self-reported, and the researchers used 60 minutes a day only as an exploratory benchmark, not as a measure of meeting WHO guidelines. The results suggest that reported exercise time rose only slightly between 2014 and 2018, and that small change did not hold up in additional checks. A clearer increase of about 10 minutes per day appeared between 2020 and 2022. Because the survey questionnaire changed in 2020, comparisons across that change are difficult to interpret. Boys consistently reported more exercise than girls, and children from higher-income families and urban areas were more likely to report at least 60 minutes a day. The gaps by school level, urban-rural residence, and income did not appear to change over time. This research suggests that although exercise time has risen recently, some groups, such as girls, children from lower-income families, and rural children, continue to be less active. The authors argue that policies to promote physical activity may need to target these groups. Because the data are self-reported and the questionnaire changed, the findings should be interpreted cautiously.
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Upload Your LabsGuo M, Gong B, Li R, Wang Z, Xu H, Zhang D. (2026). Evolving disparities in exercise-related physical activity among Chinese children and adolescents: evidence from a national repeated cross-sectional analysis, 2014-2022.. Frontiers in public health. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2026.1883019