OCCUPATIONAL ACTIVITY AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO LEISURE-TIME PHYSICAL ACTIVITY: THE ATHEROSCLEROSIS RISK IN COMMUNITIES STUDY

Abstract

1007 Accumulation of physical activity throughout the day is recommended to reduce chronic disease risk and enhance quality of life. Yet many epidemiology studies measuring physical activity do not assess occupational activity beyond job title. The purposes of this study were to describe individual components of occupational activity (lifting, walking, sitting, standing, sweating) and to document the relationship between occupational, sport, and leisure activity. Physical activity was measured by the modified Baecke questionnaire from 1987-89 among participants of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study age 45-64 years. Occupational activity was reported by 11,992 of 15,792(75.9%) participants. Overall, 10.6% of participants reported lifting heavy loads often or very often and 55.9% reported walking often or always while at work. Whites were more likely to have jobs involving sitting, while African Americans were more likely to have jobs involving standing, walking, and sweating. Using job title (scored low, moderate, high), African American men were most likely to be employed in high intensity jobs (21.2%). Age and center adjusted work scores (range 1-5) were highest among African American women(2.74) and men (2.71), followed by White men (2.57) and women (2.37). When examining the relationship between occupational and nonoccupational activity, those with high intensity jobs had lower exercise participation, sport, and leisure scores in all race-gender groups. In general, occupational activity was greatest among African American men and women, while nonoccupational activity was greatest among White men and women. As occupational activity increased, nonoccupational activity generally decreased. Studies relying solely on leisure-time physical activity to assess total activity are likely to miss important occupational contributions, especially among African American men and women.