Evering, Richard M H, van Weering, Marit G H, Groothuis-Oudshoorn, Karin C G M et al. · Clinical rehabilitation · 2011 · DOI
This review looked at 17 studies comparing how physically active people with ME/CFS are compared to healthy people. The research found that people with ME/CFS are significantly less active than healthy controls—doing only about 68% of the physical activity of healthy people. The studies also found that day-to-day variation in activity levels was similar between the two groups.
Understanding the objective physical activity patterns in ME/CFS helps validate patient experiences and informs discussions about activity management. This systematic review provides evidence-based context for clinical conversations about activity levels and can guide rehabilitation approaches, though it highlights the need for standardized, reliable measurement tools in future research.
This study does not establish whether reduced activity is a cause or consequence of ME/CFS, nor does it prove that activity restriction is beneficial or harmful. The review also cannot determine optimal activity levels for individual patients, and the variation in measurement methods means the exact 68% figure may not be precise across all study populations.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Evering, Richard M H, van Weering, Marit G H, Groothuis-Oudshoorn, Karin C G M, & Vollenbroek-Hutten, Miriam M R (2011). Daily physical activity of patients with the chronic fatigue syndrome: a systematic review.. Clinical rehabilitation. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269215510380831
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-evering-2011-daily-physical,
author = {Evering, Richard M H and van Weering, Marit G H and Groothuis-Oudshoorn, Karin C G M and Vollenbroek-Hutten, Miriam M R},
title = {Daily physical activity of patients with the chronic fatigue syndrome: a systematic review.},
journal = {Clinical rehabilitation},
year = {2011},
doi = {10.1177/0269215510380831},
note = {PubMed: 20943713},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/evering-2011-daily-physical},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-28. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/evering-2011-daily-physical
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