Research
Adherence
The decline in physical activity is slightly more pronounced in males than in females during the transition to adulthood.
Males may experience a steeper drop in activity (approx 6.5 min/day less) compared to females (approx 5.5 min/day less) during this life transition. Pay extra attention to maintaining activity levels if you are male.
ModerateQualifiesMEDIUM confidence
When we restricted analysis to studies with data for males (n=29) and females (n=30) separately, there were slightly larger declines in WMD (−6.5 (−10.6 to –2.3) and −5.5 (−8.4 to −2.6) min/day MVPA)
Why this rating
Based on stratified meta-analysis, but heterogeneity remains very high (I2 >99%).
Source
Change in physical activity from adolescence to early adulthood: a systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal cohort studies
Kirsten Corder et al. · British Journal of Sports Medicine · 2017
DOI 10.1136/bjsports-2016-097330
Meta-analysis · 49 studiesCited 444×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Physical activity (specifically moderate-to-vigorous physical activity) significantly declines by an average of 5.2 minutes per day during the transition from adolescence (13-19 years) to early adulthood (16-30 years).Moderate
- Objective measurement of physical activity using accelerometers reveals a greater decline (7.4 min/day) compared to self-reported methods, suggesting self-report may underestimate the magnitude of the decline.Limited
Related findings · Adherence
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- Resistance exercise is the only intervention capable of consistently restoring muscle function and strength in sarcopenia, partially overcoming age-related anabolic resistance.Strong
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