Household Physical Activity Research Articles

Physical activity patterns of Chippewa and Menominee Indians: The Inter-Tribal Heart Project

Introduction: Leisure-time (LTPA), occupational, transportation, and household physical activity were evaluated among participants in the Inter-Tribal Heart Project (ITHP). Methods: Age-stratified random samples of persons aged ≥25 years were drawn from three communities of Chippewa and Menominee Indians in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Participants (843 women and 501 men) completed an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Logistic regression analyses were performed to assess age-adjusted associations between no reported LTPA and potential correlates. Results: During leisure time, 12% of women and 17% of men were active 7–12 months in the past year; 33% of women and 21% of men reported no LTPA. During a typical workday for employed persons, approximately 90% of both genders walked ≥20 minutes, for carrying/lifting moderate to heavy objects the median value for men was 1 hour and women 0 hours. The median value of weekly household activity for men was 3 hours compared to 10 hours for women. Little transportation activity was reported by either gender. Age, household income, smoking, and poor/fair self-perceived health were associated with leisure-time inactivity in women ( p< 0.05). Age, poor/fair self-perceived health, and smoking were associated with leisure-time inactivity in men ( p< 0.05). Walking was the most prevalent activity in the population. Conclusions: Prevalence of leisure-time inactivity is higher than the national health objective of 15%, however, ITHP participants obtain a substantial amount of occupational and household activity that may lower risks of chronic diseases. Health promotion efforts to increase LTPA may lead not only to reduced chronic disease risk, but to additional benefits of enjoyment and improved psychological well-being.

Women’s Physical Activity Patterns: Nursing Implications

To develop a method of categorizing patterns of physical activity by describing the frequency, intensity, and duration of women's activities. A 24-cell quota sample stratified by four occupations, two races, and three age groups. Ten employment sites. One hundred seventy-six women, ages 35-65 years, who worked 20 or more hours per week at their job, were not currently using hormone replacement therapy, not pregnant, and did not have a hysterectomy before the age of 53. An interviewer and self-administered, retrospective occupational, household, and leisure physical activity questionnaire covering the previous 12 months and lifelong activity. Five patterns of household and leisure physical activity were identified: vigorous, continuous, cumulative, occasional, and inactive. Participation in the vigorous pattern was low, but 34% followed a continuous pattern of leisure activity and 75% followed a continuous pattern of household activity. The number of weekly work hours did not affect the household or leisure pattern. Women may be able to obtain the recommended levels of physical activity from a combination of occupational, household, and leisure activities. Nursing recommendations should guide women to increase their regular leisure physical activity and/or accumulate sessions of moderate-intensity activity by aerobically enhancing daily activities in which they already participate.

Low Prenatal Weight Gain Among Low-Income Women: What are the Risk Factors?

Although a large body of evidence suggests that prenatal weight gain is an important determinant of fetal growth, 23 to 38 percent of nonobese women have low prenatal weight gain. Determination of potential risk factors for low gain is essential to develop targeted intervention programs. This study examined the association of maternal sociodemographic, lifestyle, and reproductive characteristics with the actual occurrence of low gain among 536 black and 270 white low-income, nonobese women. Sociodemographic, pregnancy wantedness, reproductive, and anthropometric data were obtained by interview during the first prenatal visit. A 72-item questionnaire, administered at 24 to 26 weeks' gestation, assessed residential and household characteristics, housing characteristics, income, transportation, physical activity, employment, and institutional support. Variables associated with low gain in bivariate analyses were included in logistic regression analysis to determine the adjusted odds ratios for low gain. Three characteristics were associated with increased adjusted odds ratios for low prenatal weight gain among black women: having a mistimed or unwanted pregnancy, caring for more than one preschool child at home, and not using own car for errands. One characteristic, working more than 40 hours per week when employed, was associated with low gain among white women. Although these preliminary findings require additional confirmation, they suggest that a variety of sociodemographic and lifestyle features deserve investigations that target the identification and characterization of risk factors for low prenatal weight gain.

Dietary and environmental correlates of obesity in a population study in China.

The patterns and correlates of obesity in China were studied in two panels of a nationwide longitudinal survey conducted in 1989 and 1991 (the China Health and Nutrition Survey). Among the Chinese adults, dietary energy and fat intakes were positively and significantly associated with the Body Mass Index (BMI). Household income and physical activity level were also significantly associated with BMI. Urban residence and higher income were associated with lower energy intake, higher fat intake, and lower physical activity level compared to rural residence and other income categories. This paper documents an important emerging health problem: the increasing problem of obesity that has been observed in many lower-income countries during the last several decades.

Physical Activity Behaviors in Lower and Higher Socioeconomic Status Populations

Few data on physical activity habits among populations of low socioeconomic status have been published. The authors studied physical activity habits--leisure-time physical activity, job-related physical activity, household physical activity, and walking--among 172 lower socioeconomic status women and 84 lower socioeconomic status men and compared their habits with those of 208 higher socioeconomic status women and 95 higher socioeconomic status men. All subjects resided in the greater Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, area. Data collection occurred throughout 1986. Lower socioeconomic status women, the least active group, averaged 1,536 +/- 1,701 minutes/week (+/- standard deviation) of total physical activity, whereas higher socioeconomic status women, the most active group, averaged 2,079 +/- 1,807 minutes/week (p less than 0.0001). Higher socioeconomic status men averaged 1,952 +/- 1,799 minutes/week, and lower socioeconomic status men averaged 1,948 +/- 1,916 minutes/week. Higher socioeconomic status women spent significantly more time each week in leisure-time physical activity, job-related physical activity, and household physical activity than did lower socioeconomic status women. Lower socioeconomic status men spent significantly more time each week walking and doing household chores, whereas higher socioeconomic status men tended to be more active in leisure-time physical activity. These data suggest important quantitative and qualitative differences in physical activity among population subgroups. In view of the important role of physical activity in promoting physical and mental health, reasons for the differences among groups of varying socioeconomic status must be examined and elucidated.

Lifelong Physical Activity in Midlife and Older Women

The need for measures of physical activity in women led to this descriptive study of 375 women aged 33–62 (mean age 47±7 years). A questionnaire was developed to assess levels of lifelong physical activity (LLPAQ) with three subscales: occupation, leisure, and household. Reliability as determined by Cronbach's alpha ranged from .83–.87, while test–retest correlations ranged from .46–.57 for the subscales and total score. Correlations of the LLPAQ with cardiorespiratory fitness were positive, with a shift from highest correlation between fitness and leisure physical activity ( r = .26–.29, p &lt; .05) in younger women, to highest correlation between fitness and occupation physical activity ( r = .29–.38, p &lt; .05) in women over 50. Patterns of physical activity over the lifespan were different for each subscale; total scores showed a peak in overall physical activity between ages 25–39, and a steep decline after age 39, due to small decreases on each subscale. Relevance of a measure including household physical activity to document lifelong levels of physical activity for health studies of women is discussed.