Abstract
Background: Successful public health programs in the area of physical activity demand a clear understanding of how, and to what extent, people are physically active. Physical activity is, however, dif. cult to measure accurately. Objective: We conducted tests using various methods, including an accelerometer and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). Design: The results were applied on a feasibility sample, aged 41910 years (N=49) and on random samples of a community in the Stockholm area (N=200) and of the Swedish population (N=196), aged 47914 years and 45913 years respectively. Results: A majority of individuals in all samples reached the current recommendation of at least thirty minutes in total per day or more of moderate physical activity. However, based on accelerometer data this was achieved mainly through sporadic bouts of less than one minute. Few, if any, appeared to reach thirty minutes of continuous moderately intense activity or ev en continuous bouts of at least ten minutes three times per day. Conclusions: This study gives new insight into how, and to what extent, people are physically active, and raises a number of issues. Which is more effective for public health purposes: reaching the total recommended time in short bouts of physical activity or reaching it on one or a few sustained periods of activity? What are the implications for promoting a physically active lifestyle? Current recommendations for physical activity need to be discussed. Keywords: Accelerometer, doubly labelled water (DLW), guidelines, monitoring, physical activity, questionnaires.
Highlights
Are the recommendations feasible?A bstract Background: Successful public health programs in the area of physical activity demand a clear understanding of how, and to what extent, people are physically active
Successful public health programs targeting the promotion of physical activity and healthy eating demand a better understanding of the art and degree of physical activity in the population than what is currently available
50 per cent of the sample was physically active according to the current recommendation for health enhancing physical activity if all minutes of activity at this level were encountered, while only about one per cent was active according to the recommendations for 30 consecutive minutes, or 3 1⁄2 10 minutes
Summary
A bstract Background: Successful public health programs in the area of physical activity demand a clear understanding of how, and to what extent, people are physically active. Results: A majority of individuals in all samples reached the current recommendation of at least thirty minutes in total per day or more of moderate physical activity. Based on accelerometer data this was achieved mainly through sporadic bouts of less than one minute. If any, appeared to reach thirty minutes of continuous moderately intense activity or even continuous bouts of at least ten minutes three times per day. Which is more effective for public health purposes: reaching the total recommended time in short bouts of physical activity or reaching it on one or a few sustained periods of activity?
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