More than four in ten Kiwi kids aren't moving enough
Sport NZ's latest Active NZ survey found just 57% of 5–17-year-olds meet the activity guideline. Here's who's missing out, and what we're doing about it.
More than four in ten young New Zealanders aren't getting the
hour a day of activity they need.
What the latest data shows
Sport NZ's Active NZ survey (2024/25, 4,571 young people) found 57% of 5–17-year-olds meet the guideline of 420+ minutes of activity a week. That's recovering, but it isn't good enough.
A few numbers stand out:
Rangatahi took the biggest hit. After the pandemic, 54% of 12–17-year-olds now meet the guideline, still below the 57% before COVID.
Some never recovered. Kids who were 11–12 in 2019 have not regained their activity levels. Sport NZ says they "missed the active on-ramp".
Cost is a growing barrier. 35% of parents of 5–11-year-olds who want their child to do more say cost gets in the way, up 13 points in a year.
The gaps persist. Girls, disabled young people and those in high-deprivation areas are still less likely to meet the guideline.
A global problem
Canada's 2026 ParticipACTION Report Card shows how the slide happens with age: 17% of teens get under 20 active minutes a day, compared with just 2% of younger children.
Globally, a WHO study of 1.6 million students in 146 countries found 81% of 11–17-year-olds weren't active enough.
Catching kids before they miss the on-ramp
That on-ramp finding is the one we keep coming back to. Miss the window, and many kids don't come back.
So Power Up is built to happen in classrooms, where every child already is. It keeps them going through winter with the Virtual Adventure.
Our mission is to get a million or more moving every year, starting with the youngest.
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