Physical Activity Guidelines for Children (6-17)

The children’s guideline is the one people misquote most, because it has four parts and everyone remembers one. Ages 6 through 17: an hour a day, every day — and inside that hour, three separate requirements with their own weekly frequency.

Sixty minutes daily, plus three “at least 3 days a week” clauses

Component	Requirement
Total	60 minutes or more of moderate-to-vigorous activity, daily
Aerobic	most of the 60 minutes; vigorous-intensity on at least 3 days a week
Muscle-strengthening	part of the 60 minutes, on at least 3 days a week
Bone-strengthening	part of the 60 minutes, on at least 3 days a week

The three components overlap by design. Running is aerobic and bone-strengthening; a game of tug-of-war is muscle-strengthening; climbing a tree is both. One active afternoon can satisfy all three, which is why the guidelines list unstructured play as a legitimate route rather than a lesser one.

Note the word daily. The federal document does not average the hour across the week — that framing comes from other guidelines. Any episode of moderate or vigorous activity, however brief, counts toward it, so the hour is accumulated rather than scheduled.

Moderate alone does not qualify

One sentence in Chapter 3 is unusually direct: “Youth should not do only moderate-intensity activity.” The stated reason is that vigorous-intensity activity produces greater improvement in cardiorespiratory fitness. Children and adolescents ages 6 and older may meet the guideline with a combination of moderate and vigorous activity, or with vigorous activity alone — but not with moderate alone.

The AAP frames the same distinction in the parent-facing terms: vigorous activity is activity that makes you breathe hard and sweat, during which it would be difficult to have a conversation. The moderate vs vigorous exercise page has the full test.

Ages 3 to 5 are a separate guideline

Preschool-aged children get no number. The guidance is to be physically active throughout the day to enhance growth and development, and for adult caregivers to encourage active play with a variety of activity types. For preschoolers, activity of any intensity counts, including light intensity — a relaxation the school-age guideline does not grant.

What about weights?

Formal strength programs are allowed but not required. The guidelines note that children commonly build strength through unstructured activity involving their own body weight, that they “do not usually do or need formal muscle-strengthening programs, such as lifting weights,” and that such programs “are safe for children if they are properly prescribed and supervised.” Adolescents in particular may meet the muscle-strengthening component with structured work — weights, resistance bands, push-ups, pull-ups, planks — as long as it involves moderate or greater effort and works the major muscle groups. That is the subject of youth strength training guidelines.

For the adult version of this target, see how much exercise per week. Growth-related measurements for the same age range are in the child BMI calculator.

This content is informational and does not replace pediatric advice.