Last year, the rates of Americans reporting being "totally sedentary" reached its highest point since 2007, according to a Wall Street Journal report on the Physical Activity Council's annual survey.
The survey used information from more than 10,700 individual and household interviews conducted in January and February of 2015 regarding physical activity for 2014.
About 83 million Americans six years or older — approximately 28 percent of the U.S. population — reported they did not participate in any of 104 specific physical activities even one time in 2014, according to the report. This is the highest level of inactivity since the Physical Activity Council altered their survey in 2007 to exclude activities like throwing darts and billiards.
"We feel confident, in a sad way, that this is the largest number we've ever seen," Tom Cove, CEO of the Sports and Fitness Industry Association, which is one of the members of the council, told the Wall Street Journal. 2014 marked the highest number of sedentary Americans in the 24 years he has been involved in the survey.
Since 2007, the total number of sedentary Americans rose 18 percent. The Physical Activity Council determined physical education in schools is directly linked to fitness levels throughout a person's life. The council worries that reduced gym time in school ultimately leads to rising levels of inactivity in adults. Additionally, the competitive nature of team sports and the growing emphasis on specialization is making some children less willing to participate, according to the report.