Fitness and Wearables Statistics 2026

New data show that nearly one third (31%) of adults worldwide, approximately 1.8 billion people, did not meet the recommended levels of physical activity in 2022.

The findings point to a worrying trend of physical inactivity among adults, which has increased by about 5 percentage points between 2010 and 2022.

If the trend continues, levels of inactivity are projected to further rise to 35% by 2030, and the world is currently off track from meeting the global target to reduce physical inactivity by 2030.

Physical inactivity is still more common among women globally compared with men, with inactivity rates of 34% compared to 29%.

The highest rates of physical inactivity were observed in the high-income Asia Pacific region (48%) and South Asia (45%), with levels of inactivity in other regions ranging from 28% in high-income Western countries to 14% in Oceania.

Thirty-one percent of adults and 86% of adolescents do not meet the recommended levels of physical activity.

Physical inactivity is projected to cost public health care systems nearly US$ 300 billion between 2020 and 2030, equivalent to about US$ 27 billion every year.

People who are insufficiently active have a 20–30% increased risk of death compared to people who are sufficiently active.

In 2024, 47.2% of adults age 18 and older met the federal guidelines for aerobic physical activity, with men being more likely to meet the guidelines (52.3%) than women (42.4%).

Men (52.3%) were more likely than women (42.4%) to meet aerobic physical activity guidelines.

The percentage of adults who met the guidelines for aerobic physical activity decreased with age, from 54.0% among adults 18–34 to 38.4% among adults 65 and older.

The percentage of adults who met guidelines for aerobic physical activity decreased with decreasing urbanization level, from 51.5% among adults living in large central metropolitan areas to 40.2% in nonmetropolitan areas.

In 2020, 24.2% of adults aged 18 and over met the 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans for both aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities.

Overall, non-Hispanic Asian adults (20.1%) had the lowest prevalence of physical inactivity outside of work followed by non-Hispanic White (23.0%), non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native (29.1%), non-Hispanic Black (30.0%), and Hispanic or Latino/a adults (32.1%).

“Reaching 250 million active Americans is a historic milestone for our industry,” said Todd Smith, President and CEO of SFIA.

Under this new metric, 32% of Americans are meeting the federal recommendation of 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity physical activity.

The share of Americans who are totally inactive fell below 20% for the first time since SFIA began tracking, marking seven consecutive years of decline.

At the same time, the share of Europeans who never exercise or play sport decreased from 45% in 2022 to 39% this year.

The share of citizens exercising several times a week has risen to 38% (up 6 percentage points), while the share exercising almost daily has increased to 9% (up 3 percentage points).

Parks and outdoor spaces remain the most popular setting for exercise (47%, stable from 2022), followed by health and fitness facilities (from 33% to 39%) and active commuting (from 24% to 37%— the largest increase across all categories).

Walking for at least 10 minutes at a time is now reported by 72% of citizens, a significant increase compared to 16% in 2022.

Improving or maintaining physical health (44%) and relaxing (39%) remain the top two personal motivations for exercising, ahead of improving physical performance (30%) and travelling from one place to another (30%).

The latest Active Lives Adult Survey Report, covering the period between November 2024 and November 2025, shows that 64.6% of adults (30.9 million people) met the Chief Medical Officers’ guidelines of doing 150 minutes, or more, of moderate intensity physical activity a week.

That’s an increase of 859,000 adults compared to the previous 12 months.

A new line indicating ‘inactive adults’ appears on in, showing a gradual trend downwards, finishing with 24.7% for these 2024-25 results.

The report finds that 81 million Americans belonged to a gym, studio, or other fitness facilities in 2025, marking an all-time high and a 5.2% increase from 2024.

26.1% of the US population aged six and older was a member — one of the highest penetration rates in the world.

Membership penetration rose across every demographic tracked, with Gen Z adults (18–24) posting the highest rate at 35.5% and older adults posting the strongest year-over-year gains.

Fitness facilities also reached new heights with an estimated 7 billion visits in 2025, surpassing the previous pre-pandemic peak set in 2019.

When including non-members who visited via day passes, guest privileges, and other flexible options, more than 100 million people used a fitness facility during the year, underscoring the central role these spaces now play in supporting active lifestyles across the country.

Meanwhile, the share of members who did not use their membership at all has fallen from around 10% to 4.6% — an all-time low — pointing to a membership base that is more consistently engaged than at any point on record.

Nearly half of all members (49.4%) meet or exceed federal aerobic physical activity guidelines, compared to just 24.5% of Americans who don’t use fitness facilities.

Yoga remained the most widely practiced activity at 17.7 million members, while Pilates and tai chi continued to grow steadily.

Among fitness operators responding to HFA’s Global Survey, median revenue increased 10.7% in 2025, median net membership grew 6.1%, and the median EBITDA margin reached 22.1%.

India already has an estimated 13.65 million members and 49,300 facilities at just 0.9% penetration, with membership and revenue projected to grow at annual rates of 11% and 15%, respectively, through 2030.

On average, there was a 36.1% increase in the use of wearable devices among US adults, from an estimated 30.2% (or 79 million) in 2020 to 41.1% (or 108 million) in 2024, with similar patterns among those with high CV risk (P<.001 for both).

The actual daily use of wearable devices was low, remaining relatively consistent across the study period (15.1% in 2020 to 18.5% in 2024) (Figure 1).

While there was a high willingness to share wearable data with healthcare providers to aid care (73.4% to 81.3%), only a minority shared their data throughout study years (14.2% in 2020 vs 19.2% in 2024).

As 2020 begins – and health-related New Year’s resolutions take effect – roughly one-in-five U.S. adults (21%) say they regularly wear a smart watch or wearable fitness tracker, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted June 3-17, 2019.

Around three-in-ten Americans living in households earning $75,000 or more a year (31%) say they wear a smart watch or fitness tracker on a regular basis, compared with 12% of those whose annual household income falls below $30,000.

Women are more likely than men to say they regularly use these devices (25% vs. 18%).

The report, based on a survey of 2,000 clinicians, researchers and exercise professionals in the fitness industry, was published today in the November/December issue of ACSM’s Health & Fitness Journal®.

Strava, the app for active people with over 180 million users across more than 185 countries, today released its 12th annual Year In Sport: Trend Report , revealing a fundamental shift in how younger generations are choosing to connect: they’re logging off and lacing up.

A, maker of the most trusted smart ring, Oura Ring, announced today that Oura Ring sales have surpassed 5.5 million since the product was first offered in 2015, with over half of those sales coming in the last year alone.

Worldwide wearable device shipments reached about 148 million units in Q2 2026, up 2.7% year over year and 1.5% quarter over quarter, according to IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker.

It accounted for 64.9% of shipments and grew 5.4% year over year.

Smartwatches fell 4.2% to a 25.0% share, and wrist bands declined 4.7% to 7.4% share.

Glasses grew 54.0% year over year to 1.7% share, supported by strong demand for AI glasses and new optical styles that broaden their appeal beyond sunglasses.

Apple led the market with 15.5% share and grew 8.9% year over year.

Huawei topped smartwatches with 18.8%, ahead of Apple at 17.2%.

IDC forecasts wearable shipments of about 625 million units in 2026, up 1.7% year over year.

Fitness: Revenue from the fitness segment increased 42% in the fourth quarter primarily due to strong demand for wearables driven by both market share gains and market growth.