Do New Zealand Women’s Age and Ethnicity Contribute to Achieving Physical Activity Guidelines?

Abstract

Regular participation in physical activity (PA) has overwhelming positive implications on long-term health and on disease prevention. Despite established government guidelines to improve health through PA, over half of New Zealand women reportedly fail to meet these criteria. Barriers to achieving minimum physical activity levels may include demographic characteristics (i.e. age, ethnicity), but the contribution of each factor is unclear. PURPOSE: To understand how age and ethnicity affect a New Zealand woman’s ability to meet PA guidelines. METHODS: Healthy New Zealand women (n = 350) of three ethnicities (Māori, Pacific, European) aged 16-45y (stratified as 16-25y, 26-35y, 36-45y) wore triaxial accelerometers for 7 days. Levels of moderate-vigorous PA (MVPA; ≥2020 counts.min-1) were assessed. Participants were categorised as achieving or not achieving PA guidelines. PA guidelines are commonly reported as either ≥150 min.wk-1 MVPA (Basic) or ≥150 min.wk-1 MVPA in bouts of 10+ min (Basic10+), therefore both of these classifications were considered. RESULTS: Basic10+ guidelines were met by only 32% of New Zealand women; a further 34% of women (66% in total) met Basic guidelines. There were no significant differences between the three age groups when ethnicity was not also considered. Achievement of Basic guidelines was lower in Pacific women (37%) than Maori (65%; p=0.001) or European (75%; p<0.001) women. Specifically, fewer Pacific women in the 16-25y and 36-45y age groups achieved Basic PA guidelines than women of the same age but different ethnicity. More European women (38%) met Basic10+ guidelines than Maori (22%; p=0.011) or Pacific (22%; p=0.012) women. These differences between ethnicity were not specific to any age group. CONCLUSION: Although only two-thirds of New Zealand women achieved Basic PA guidelines, the prevalence was substantially higher than overall national statistics (48%). Given the extremely low rates of PA for periods of 10 or more minutes, a strategy is needed to increase the length of time women spend in bouts of MVPA. The findings further suggest that ethnicity, more so than age, is a contributing factor to achieving PA guidelines. Funding Sources: Nutricia Research Foundation