Hate the outdoors? Americans take 1 billion fewer outings than decade ago, report says

Americans aren’t going outdoors as much as before, and a new report has data to prove it.

The Outdoor Foundation, an arm of the Outdoor Industry Association, found that only about half of the people in the U.S. took part in an outdoor activity at least once in 2018.

The report looked at a large number of outdoor activities, including hunting, hiking, camping, fishing and canoeing.

People in the U.S. went on 1 billion fewer annual outings in 2018 than they did in 2008, the report said, and less than 20 percent of the population includeoutdoor recreation in their weekly routines.

“Unfortunately, the report highlights an alarming trend that just under half the U.S. population does not participate in outdoor recreation at all,” an Outdoor Foundation news release says.

Adults aren’t the only one spending less time outside. Children went on 15% fewer annual outings in 2018 than in 2012, the report states.

“This trend is particularly prevalent in communities of color and among children, which is why OIA is making it our mission to work to break down barriers to the outdoors so that people can experience the positive benefits outdoor activities can provide,” Patricia Rojas-Ungar, vice president of government affairs at Outdoor Industry Association, said in a news release.

People want to take part in recreation that is close to home, the report says. Sixty-three percent of people who made it outdoors went somewhere within 10 miles of their home.

“The best chance for us to get more people outdoors, connecting to nature and each other, is for all of us to work together,” Shanelle Smith Whigham, Ohio state director for The Trust for Public Land, said in the news release. “It’s how we make change, and it makes a world of difference.”

This story was originally published January 30, 2020 at 4:38 PM.