Cross-sectional associations of active transport, employment status and objectively measured physical activity: analyses from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Lin Yang,J Aaron Hipp,Lee Smith,Graham A Colditz,Liang Hu,Kellie R Imm,Rudolph Schutte,Brendon Stubbs

doi:10.1136/jech-2017-210265

Abstract

BackgroundTo investigate associations between active transport, employment status and objectively measured moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in a representative sample of US adults.MethodsCross-sectional analyses of data from the National Health and...

Highlights

Regular and sustained participation in physical activity is associated with better physical and mental health and is associated with healthy ageing in adults.[1,2,3] the global physical activity recommendations developed by the World Health Organization recommends that adults should do at least 150 minutes (2 hours and 30 minutes) a week of moderate-intensity, or 75 minutes (1 hour and 15 minutes) a week of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity, or an equivalent combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity aerobic activity.[4]
Patterns of active transport were similar between the employed (n=2,897) and unemployed (n=2,283), such that 76.0% employed and 77.5% unemployed engaged in no active transport
Those engaging in high levels of active transport (≥90 min/week) had higher amount of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) than those who did not engage in active transport

Summary

Introduction

Regular and sustained participation in physical activity is associated with better physical and mental health and is associated with healthy ageing in adults.[1,2,3] the global physical activity recommendations developed by the World Health Organization recommends that adults should do at least 150 minutes (2 hours and 30 minutes) a week of moderate-intensity, or 75 minutes (1 hour and 15 minutes) a week of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity, or an equivalent combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity aerobic activity.[4]. A recent British study[8] in a sample of 1628 adults showed that changes in active transport were associated with commensurate changes in total physical activity. Compared with those whose active transport remained unchanged, total physical activity decreased by 176.9 min/week in those whose active transport had decreased (adjusted regression coefficient −154.9, 95% CI: −195.3 to −114.5) and was 112.2 min/week greater among those whose active transport had increased (adjusted regression coefficient 135.1, 95% CI: 94.3 to 175.9). It is possible that by transforming routine daily living into an opportunity for physical activity, active transport overcomes many of the traditional barriers to engaging in leisure-time or occupational physical activity. To investigate associations between active transport, employment status and objectively measured moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in a representative sample of US adults

Methods

Results

Conclusion