Healthy Living
Tracking 10 benchmarks of physical health behavior — from exercise and diet to sleep, smoking, and substance use — across American adults, 2000 to 2022.
The Sightlines Project

A CENTRAL FINDING FROM THE 2026 REPORT

Americans are exercising more… and sitting more.

The biggest gain in exercise came alongside the biggest gain in sedentary time. These counterintuitive trends are seen across the healthy living domain. Read our healthy living report to learn more.

↑ HEALTHY GAIN

Physical activity

37.5% →  48.8%

Nearly half of Americans now meet exercise guidelines, up from around one-third in 2007.

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BUT

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↑ ADVERSE GAIN

Sedentary Time

43.1% →  52.1%

Over half of Americans now have high amounts of sedentary time, up 9 percentage points from 2007.

↑ HEALTHY GAIN

Fruits & Vegetables

16.2% →  17.8%

Fewer than 1 in 5 Americans eat enough fruits and vegetables, but the share is up since 2007

↑ ADVERSE GAIN

Excessive alcohol

12.8% →  19.9%

Excessive alcohol consumption has seen a 7.1 percentage point increase, up 53% since 2007

Read the full report to learn more→

● Healthy Behaviors

3 of 10 benchmarks

Sufficient sleep
68.8% ↑ 15%
get 7-9 hours nightly
Physical activity
48.8% ↑ 30%
meet 150+ min/week
Fruits &Vegetables
17.8% ↑ 10%
eat 5+ servings daily

● Adverse Health Behaviors

7 of 10 benchmarks

Smoking
14.6% ↓ 28%
currently smoking
Excessive alcohol
19.9% ↑ 53%
drink above guidelines
Illicit drug use
2.8% ↑ 68%
report any use
Unhealthy BMI
40.2% ↑ 31%
BMI of 30 or above
Ultra-processed foods
87.1% ↓ 6%
>30% of diet is UPF
Sedentary time
48.8% ↑ 11%
sit 5+ hours per day
Fast food
21.0% -0%
eat fast food >2 per week