UCLA Center for Health Policy Research

This policy brief describes physical activity among California's adolescents based primarily on data from the 2003 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS 2003). The number of California adolescents who are physically inactive is increasing. Teenage girls, teens from low-income families, teens with no access to safe parks or open spaces, teens whose schools do not require physical education, and Latino, Asian, and African American teens are particularly at risk. The policy brief recommends that efforts to increase physical activity among California's youth should focus on assuring increased opportunities for activity at school and more safe environments for activity out of school.