In an Urban Neighborhood,Who Is Physically Active and Where?

Previous research has shown differences in adult physical activity (PA) levels within urban population, in what types of activities they participated, and where they were active. A sample of 514 urban Philadelphia adult residents was surveyed about level and location of PA. A majority (55.6%) of survey participants reported being vigorously or moderately active or walking enough to meet PA guidelines. A significantly higher proportion of men (vs. women), younger (vs. older) adults and people who were employed (vs. unemployed) met the PA guidelines. Most participants (87.5%) reported walking at least once within the previous week, while 79.3% reported engaging in moderate or vigorous activity. Of the participants who reported being moderately or vigorously active, 64.0% were physically active in indoors only, 22.6% were active in outdoors only, and 13.4% were active in both indoors and outdoors. Significantly fewer black women were active outdoors, compared to all other race/sex combinations (odds ratio = 0.43, p-value < 0.01). In this diverse sample of urban residents, outdoor PA was significantly less frequently reported than indoor PA, particularly for Black women. These findings could help inform urban PA interventions.     

Trends in prevalence of leisure time physical activity and inactivity: results from Australian National Health Surveys 1989 to 2011

Objective: To examine trends in leisure time physical activity and inactivity in Australians aged 15 years or older from 1989 to 2011. Method: We used data from six Australian National Health Surveys conducted from 1989/90 to 2011/12 in which physical activity was assessed using comparable questions. Analyses examined trends in the prevalence of sufficient physical activity (≥150 minutes/week moderate‐to‐vigorous physical activity) and of inactivity (<30 minutes/week moderate‐to‐vigorous physical activity). Results: The proportion of sufficiently active adults was 39.2% in 1989 and 40.7% in 2011 with an overall declining trend of 0.2% per year (p=0.012). The prevalence of inactivity was 38.7% in 1989 and 37.3% in 2011; the overall time trend by year was stable (OR=0.999, p=0.242). In women, sufficient physical activity decreased by 0.3% per year from 35.5% in 1989 (p=0.025); inactivity increased from 39.5% by 0.3% per year (p=0.004). In men, sufficient physical activity prevalence was 43.1% in 1989 with a steady trend; inactivity decreased from 37.9% by 0.5% per year (p<0.0001). Conclusions: The prevalence of sufficient physical activity remains low and inactivity high. Women appear to be a key target group for intervention. Public health efforts have been ineffective over two decades for improving physical activity among Australian adults. Implications for public health: This research supports calls for a national physical activity action plan given the multitude of benefits from sufficient physical activity. Maintenance of consistent physical activity questions in future National Health Surveys will facilitate long term tracking of physical activity levels in the Australian population.     

Muscle strength and physical activity are associated with self-rated health in an adult Danish population

Objective

To describe associations of muscle strength, physical activity and self-rated health.

Method

Isometric muscle strength by maximal handgrip strength (HGS) or muscle strength by 30 s repeated chair stand test (30 s-CS) was combined with leisure time physical activity. Using logistic regression odds ratio was calculated for good self-rated health according to the combined associations among 16,539 participants (59.7% women), mean age 51.9 (SD: 13.8) years, from a cross-sectional study in Denmark 2007–2008.

Results

Good self-rated health was positively associated with higher levels of physical activity and greater muscle strength. Regarding HGS the highest OR for good self-rated health was in the moderate/vigorous physically active participants with high HGS (OR = 6.84, 95% CI: 4.85–9.65 and OR = 7.34, 95% CI: 5.42–9.96 for men and women, respectively). Similarly the highest OR for good self-rated health was in the moderate/vigorous physically active participants with high scores in the 30 s-CS test (6.06, 95% CI: 4.32–8.50 and 13.38, 95% CI: 9.59–18.67 for men and women, respectively). The reference groups were sedentary participants with low strength (HGS or 30 s-CS).

Conclusion

The combined score for physical activity level with either HGS or 30 s-CS was strongly positively associated with self-related health.     

Relationships of self-reported physical activity domains with accelerometry recordings in French adults

The objective was to examine the relationships of self-reported physical activity (PA) by domain (leisure, occupational, other) with PA and sedentary time as measured objectively by accelerometry. Subjects were adults with low habitual PA levels from a community in northern France. Among subjects in the lowest tertile of a PA score from a screening questionnaire, 160 (37% males, age: 41.0 ± 10.8 years, BMI: 25.1 ± 4.1 kg/m², mean ± SD) completed a detailed instrument (Modifiable Activity Questionnaire), and wore an accelerometer (Actigraph) for seven consecutive days. Relationships between questionnaire domains (occupational, leisure, and “non-occupational non-leisure”) and accelerometry measures (total activity and sedentary time) were assessed using Spearman correlation coefficients. In this population, the highest contributor to total reported PA (h/week) was occupational PA. Time spent in non-occupational non-leisure PA ranked second in women and third in men. The most frequent non-occupational non-leisure PA were shopping and household chores. In women, non-occupational non-leisure PA contributed more than occupational or leisure-time PA to total PA energy expenditure (median: 18.0, 9.1, and 4.9 MET-h/week, respectively). Total PA by accelerometry (count/day) was correlated to leisure-time PA in women (r = 0.22, P < 0.05) and to occupational (r = 0.43, P < 0.01) and total reported PA (r = 0.39, P < 0.01) in men (all in MET-h/week). There was an inverse relationship between accelerometry sedentary time (h/day) and non-occupational non-leisure PA (MET-h/week, r = −0.30, P < 0.001). These findings indicate the importance of assessing non-occupational non-leisure PA for a better understanding of how individuals partition their time between active or sedentary occupations.     

Large ethnic variations in recommended physical activity according to activity domains in amsterdam, the netherlands

Purpose

The level of recommended physical activity (PA) is met less frequently by people from some ethnic minorities than others. We explored whether these differences in recommended PA between ethnic minority groups and the general population varied by domain and type of culturally-specific activity.

Methods

Participants were sampled from the population based SUNSET study and were from ethnic Dutch (n = 567), Hindustani-Surinamese (n = 370) and African-Surinamese (n = 689) descent. The validated SQUASH-questionnaire measured PA for the following domains: commuting, occupation, household, leisure time. Culturally-specific activities were added as extra question within the leisure time domain. The effect of each domain on ethnic differences in recommended PA prevalence was examined by odds-ratio (OR) analysis through recalculating recommended PA, while, in turn, excluding the contribution of each domain.

Results

In the ethnic Dutch population, more vigorous PA in commuting and leisure time was reported compared to the Surinamese groups. The Hindustani-Surinamese and African-Surinamese reported more walking as commuting activity, while the Dutch group reported cycling more frequently. Ethnic differences in recommended PA became smaller in both Surinamese groups compared with the Dutch after removing commuting activity, for example, in Hindustani-Surinamese men (OR = 0.92, 95%CI: 0.62-1.37 vs. OR = 1.33, 0.89-2.00) and women (OR = 1.61, 1.12-2.32 vs. OR = 2.03, 1.41-2.92). Removing occupational activity resulted in larger ethnic differences in both groups compared with the Dutch. Smaller effects were found for yoga and dancing, leisure time and household activities.

Conclusion

This study shows that differences in PA between ethnic minority groups and the general population vary according to the activity domain. The results indicate that including all relevant domains and activities is essential for assessment of ethnic differences in recommended PA.     

Burnout and engagement among resident doctors in the Netherlands: a national study

Medical Education 2010: 44 : 236–247 Objectives This study was performed in order to gather insight into the well‐being of Dutch medical residents. Methods In 2005, all Dutch residents registered through the Medical Registration Committee (n = 5245) were sent a self‐report questionnaire to assess socio‐demographic and work‐related characteristics, burnout and engagement. Results Of the 5140 eligible residents, 2115 completed the questionnaire (41%). Of those, 21% fulfilled the criteria for moderate to severe burnout and 27% were highly engaged with their work. Women reported more emotional exhaustion and less depersonalisation than men; age was weakly but significantly related to depersonalisation, and married residents and parents reported less depersonalisation than their single or childless counterparts. More men than women were found to be highly engaged and men specifically reported more vigour. Number of years in training was weakly but significantly related to absorption. With regard to occupational risk factors, significant between‐group differences were found for the effects of clinical setting on emotional exhaustion, engagement, vigour and absorption. Residents in training in a mental health clinic were most emotionally exhausted and those in a rehabilitation centre were least engaged. General surgery represented the specialty with the lowest number of residents suffering from burnout, followed by obstetrics and gynaecology and any supportive specialty. General surgery residents were also found to be more highly engaged, vigorous, dedicated and absorbed than others. Conclusions As more than a fifth of the medical residents who responded could be diagnosed as suffering from burnout, we conclude that this problem needs addressing in the Dutch health care system, especially given that a relationship was proven between burnout and suboptimal patient care. We must look for solutions and interventions which will improve the work situation of medical residents. Striving for healthy workers in health care has to become daily practice.     

Reliability and validity of a modified self‐administered version of the Active Australia physical activity survey in a sample of mid‐age women

Objective: To assess the test‐retest reliability and validity of a modified self‐administered version of the Active Australia physical activity survey. Methods: One hundred and fifty‐nine mid‐age women (54–59 years) completed a mailed physical activity questionnaire before recording daily pedometer step counts for seven consecutive days. A random subsample (n=44) also wore an accelerometer during this period. Participants then completed the physical activity questionnaire again. Spearman's ρ and per cent agreement were used to assess test‐retest reliability. Self‐reported physical activity data (time 2) were compared with pedometer and accelerometer data using box plots and Spearman's correlations to assess validity. Results: Median time between surveys was 13 days. Median frequency and duration of moderate and vigorous physical activity were the same at both surveys, but median walking frequency was slightly higher at time 2 than time 1. Reliability coefficients for frequency/time in each domain of physical activity ranged from 0.56–0.64 and per cent agreement scores ranged from 40% to 65% for the physical activity categories; agreement was 76% for ‘meeting guidelines’. Correlations (p) between self‐reported physical activity and 1) weekly pedometer steps and 2) accelerometer data for duration of at least moderate intensity physical activity were 0.43 and 0.52 respectively. Conclusions: The measurement properties of this modified self‐administered physical activity survey are similar to those reported for the original computer assisted telephone interview survey. Implications: This modified version of the Active Australia survey is suitable for use in self‐administered format.     

Asociación entre las características del entorno de residencia y la actividad física

Objective

To assess the relationship between the physical and social attributes of the neighborhood environment and levels of total physical activity (PA), leisure time PA, and active commuting PA in adults.

Methods

The present cross-sectional study comprised 1500 adults (51.1% women) aged 15-74 years from the Autonomous Region of Madrid (Spain). Data were collected through a structured telephone interview. PA was assessed using the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire, version 2. Neighborhood attributes were assessed with the Environmental Module of the International Physical Activity Prevalence Study.

Results

The factors associated with a higher probability of achieving moderate to high levels of total PA and active commuting PA were living in high density residential areas, the presence of shops close to the residential area, public transport stops 10-15 minutes away from the home, and the existence of sidewalks in most of the neighborhood's streets (all p <0,05). The factors associated with moderate to high leisure time PA levels were the presence of active people in the residential area and the presence of low-cost recreational facilities (both p <0,05).

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that most of the physical and social attributes of the neighborhood environment examined in this study are associated with total and active commuting PA, whereas only certain neighborhood attributes seem to be associated with leisure time PA.     

中国慢性病前瞻性研究: 10 个项目地区成人体力活动和休闲静坐时间特征差异的分析

目的 描述中国慢性病前瞻性研究(CKB)10个项目点健康人群体力活动和静坐行为特征的地区差异。方法 剔除自报患有冠心病、卒中和肿瘤等慢性疾病的个体后, 研究分析10个项目地区中486 514名30~79岁队列成员体力活动和每周休闲静坐时间的基线信息, 重点描述地区差异。结果 男性总体力活动水平(22.9 MET-h/d)高于女性(20.6 MET-h/d), 休闲静坐时间(3.1 h/d)多于女性(2.9 h/d)。浙江项目点个体每天总体力活动水平最高(男31.3 MET-h/d, 女 30.2 MET-h/d)且静坐时间最少(男2.0 h/d, 女 1.6 h/d)。工作相关活动所占比例, 男性以浙江(86.5%)和河南(85.2%)项目点最高, 海口(69.4%)最低;女性以浙江(74.8%)最高, 河南(40.9%)最低。甘肃项目点(男17.8%, 女18.1%)交通活动所占比例明显高于其他地区。家务活动所占比例, 男性以湖南项目点(18.0%)最高, 女性以河南(54.0%)和湖南(39.1%)最高。城市项目点的休闲相关活动所占比例高于农村, 其中柳州(男9.5%, 女10.4%)最高。甘肃(男36.8%, 女29.8%)、四川(男34.1%, 女33.8%)和浙江(男20.0%, 女19.2%)3个农村项目点的高强度活动所占比例明显高于其他项目点。结论 CKB 10个项目地区的研究人群在总体力活动水平、活动类型、活动强度和休闲静坐时间等特征上存在明显的地区差异。     

安徽省蚌埠市初中生体力活动现状及其与抑郁症状、学校生活满意度的关联研究

目的 调查安徽省蚌埠市初中生体力活动及抑郁症状和学校生活满意度现状,探讨体力活动与抑郁症状和学校生活满意度的关系.方法 采用儿童抑郁障碍自评量表、学校生活满意度问卷、体力活动及久坐行为问卷对蚌埠市4所中学100个班的学生进行问卷调查,共收集有效问卷5268份,其中男生2769名(52.6％)和女生2499名(47.4％),平均年龄(13.2±1.0)岁.使用x2检验和多因素logistic回归模型对数据进行分析.结果 5268名初中生参加足量中等强度、足量大强度体力活动及体力活动缺乏的比例分别为14.7％、36.0％和59.1％.抑郁症状和学校生活不满意的检出率分别为24.4％和25.9％.调整久坐行为和人口统计学变量后,足量中等强度和足量大强度体力活动能降低抑郁症状和学校生活不满意的风险,其OR值(95％CI)分别为0.73(0.60 ～ 0.89)、0.68(0.59～ 0.79)和0.76(0.63 ～ 0.92)、0.70(0.61 ～ 0.81);而体力活动缺乏增加抑郁症状和学校生活不满意的风险,其OR值(95％CI)分别为1.42( 1.24 ～ 1.63)和1.45( 1.27 ～ 1.66).结论 蚌埠市初中生体力活动的现状不容乐观,体力活动与抑郁症状和学校生活不满意的发生密切相关.     

Total and domain‐specific sitting time among employees in desk‐based work settings in Australia

Objective: To describe the total and domain‐specific daily sitting time among a sample of Australian office‐based employees. Methods: In April 2010, paper‐based surveys were provided to desk‐based employees (n=801) in Victoria, Australia. Total daily and domain‐specific (work, leisure‐time and transport‐related) sitting time (minutes/day) were assessed by validated questionnaires. Differences in sitting time were examined across socio‐demographic (age, sex, occupational status) and lifestyle characteristics (physical activity levels, body mass index [BMI]) using multiple linear regression analyses. Results: The median (95% confidence interval [CI]) of total daily sitting time was 540 (531–557) minutes/day. Insufficiently active adults (median=578 minutes/day, [95%CI: 564–602]), younger adults aged 18–29 years (median=561 minutes/day, [95%CI: 540–577]) reported the highest total daily sitting times. Occupational sitting time accounted for almost 60% of total daily sitting time. In multivariate analyses, total daily sitting time was negatively associated with age (unstandardised regression coefficient [B]=?1.58, p<0.001) and overall physical activity (minutes/week) (B=?0.03, p<0.001) and positively associated with BMI (B=1.53, p=0.038). Conclusions: Desk‐based employees reported that more than half of their total daily sitting time was accrued in the work setting. Implications: Given the high contribution of occupational sitting to total daily sitting time among desk‐based employees, interventions should focus on the work setting.     

Thirty-year trends of physical activity in relation to age, calendar time and birth cohort in Finnish adults

BACKGROUND: The aim of this article was to investigate time trends 1972-2002 in leisure time, occupational and commuting physical activity across birth cohorts in Finnish adults. METHODS: The study population comprised 59 028 men and women aged 25-64 years who participated in the FINRISK Study. The first birth cohort was born in 1913 and the last in 1977. Prevalence of physical activity was reported across birth cohorts and study years and change in the prevalence was tested using log-linear regression analysis. RESULTS: The prevalence of leisure-time physical activity increased between 1972 and 2002 from 66% to 77% in men and from 49% to 76% in women. In each study year, the younger people were more active than the older ones. However, within the birth cohorts, physical activity tended to increase with age. The prevalence of physically demanding work decreased from 60% to 38% in men and from 47% to 25% in women and the prevalence of daily commuting activity decreased from 30% to 10% in men and from 34% to 22% in women, in the same time period. In the 1970s and the 80s, the older people had more physically demanding work than the younger ones, but within the birth cohorts, occupational activity decreased with age. CONCLUSION: During the past 30 years, the prevalence of leisure-time physical activity has increased, while the prevalence of occupational and commuting physical activity has decreased. The cross-sectional association of age with different types of physical activity was different from that assessed within the birth cohorts.     

Quality of life and physical activity among adults: population-based study in Brazilian adults

Objective

To analyze the association between leisure-time physical activity (PA) (walking, moderate- and vigorous-intensity activities) and transport (active commuting) with quality of life (QoL) domains (physical, social relations, environmental and psychological).

Methods

Participants were 1,461 adults (18?C65?years) living in the city of Curitiba, Brazil. QoL was assessed using the abbreviated WHOQoL questionnaire and PA through the IPAQ long version. Multiple linear regression models were used to analyze the relationship between PA types (walking, moderate and vigorous) and domains (leisure and transport) with QoL domains.

Results

Walking for leisure was positively associated with social relations (???=?1.5; P?=?0.011) and environment (???=?3.3; P?=?0.015) domains among men and with physical (???=?3.2; P?=?0.04), environment (???=?4.1; P?=?0.011) and psychological (???=?3.2; P?=?0.009) domains among women. Moderate intensity PA was associated with all but the physical QoL domain among women. Among men, this association was observed only between insufficient levels of PA and the physical domain of QoL (???=?3.0; P?=?0.016). Vigorous PA was associated with social relations (???=?3.4;?P?=?0.034)?and psychological (???=?4.2; P?=?0.009) QoL domains. Transport PA was only associated with the physical QoL domain in men (???=?3.1; P?=?0.042).

Conclusion

There is a positive relationship between PA and QoL, though this association varies according to the type and intensity of PA and differs across QoL domains. Unlike transport PA, leisure-time PA shows consistent association with QoL.     

Physical activity and risk of cardiovascular disease--a meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies

In order to update and improve available evidence on associations of physical activity (PA) with cardiovascular disease (CVD) by applying meta-analytic random effects modeling to data from prospective cohort studies, using high quality criteria of study selection, we searched the PubMed database from January 1980 to December 2010 for prospective cohort studies of PA and incident CVD, distinguishing occupational PA and leisure time PA, coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke, respectively. Inclusion criteria were peer-reviewed English papers with original data, studies with large sample size (n ≥ 1,000) and substantial follow-up (≥ 5 years), available data on major confounders and on estimates of relative risk (RR) or hazard ratio (HR), with 95% confidence intervals (CI). We included 21 prospective studies in the overall analysis, with a sample size of more than 650,000 adults who were initially free from CVD, and with some 20,000 incident cases documented during follow-up. Among men, RR of overall CVD in the group with the high level of leisure time PA was 0.76 (95% CI 0.70-0.82, p < 0.001), compared to the reference group with low leisure time PA, with obvious dose-response relationship. A similar effect was observed among women (RR = 0.73, 95% CI 0.68-0.78, p < 0.001). A strong protective effect of occupational PA was observed for moderate level in both men (RR = 0.89, 95% CI 0.82-0.97, p = 0.008) and women (RR = 0.83, 95% CI 0.67-1.03, p = 0.089). No publication bias was observed. Our findings suggest that high level of leisure time PA and moderate level of occupational PA have a beneficial effect on cardiovascular health by reducing the overall risk of incident coronary heart disease and stroke among men and women by 20 to 30 percent and 10 to 20 percent, respectively. This evidence from high quality studies supports efforts of primary and secondary prevention of CVD in economically advanced as well as in rapidly developing countries.     

Epidemiology of physical activity in adult Polish population in the second decade of the 21st century. Results of the NATPOL 2011 study

Objectives

The aim of the study was to assess physical activity (PA) level in a representative sample of Polish adults.

Materials and Methods

A cross-sectional analysis was performed among 2413 randomly selected individuals (51.5% women) aged 18–79 years, who participated in the Nationwide Study of Occurrence of Risk Factors of Cardiovascular Diseases NATPOL 2011 (March–July 2011). The study procedures consisted of a questionnaire as well as of anthropometric, blood pressure and biochemical measurements. Leisure-time, occupational and commuting PA were assessed by the use of a questionnaire interview.

Results

About 48.2% of adults do exercise for at least 30 minutes on most days of a week. About 11% of the respondents declare a sedentary lifestyle. About 26.5% of working population report hard physical work, while sedentary work is reported by 47.6% of the employed participants. Active commuting is declared by 27.3% of working/studying population. About 47.2%, 36.6%, and 15.3% spend < 15, 15–30, and > 30 min per day, respectively, on this kind of PA.

Conclusions

PA level of more than half of Polish adults is still not satisfactory. Promotion of an active lifestyle should concern mainly leisure-time and commuting PA with paying special attention to substantial differences in various socio-demographic groups.     

Self-reported physical activity using International Physical Activity Questionnaire in adolescents and young adults with visual impairment

Background

Young people with visual impairment (VI) face many environmental barriers that influence physical activity.

Occupational and leisure-time physical activity and workload among construction workers – a randomized control study

Background: There is a lack of quantification of occupational physical activity (OPA) and leisure time physical activity (LTPA) among construction workers.

Objectives: To describe physical activity energy expenditure (PAEE), physical workload, and the effect of a PA-intervention among construction workers.

Methods: Sixty-seven Construction workers self-reported their physical activity (PA), had PA assessed directly (PAEE), and observed OPA using the tool “Posture, Activity, Tools and Handling.” The PA-intervention (Intervention; n = 29, Controls; n = 24) included 3x20-min training/week for 12 weeks.

Results: Baseline median OPA was 5036 MET-min/week and LTPA 2842 MET-min/week, p < 0.01. OPA directly recorded was (mean ± SE): 56.6 ± 3.2 J/kg/min and LTPA was: 35.7 ± 2.2 J/kg/min (p < 0.001). Manual material handling was performed for ≥ 25% of working time by more than 50% of the participants. Post-intervention, the training group reduced overall PAEE compared to the control group but not specifically during work.

Conclusions: OPA was within the maximum recommended level of 1/3 proposed in consensus guidelines but did not decrease with PA-intervention.     

What's Physical Activity Got to Do With It? Social Trends in Less Active Students at Recess

BACKGROUND

Public health concerns regarding childhood obesity and sedentary behavior make investigations of children's physical activity (PA) promotion crucial. School recess, a highly discretional time, plays a central role in shaping children's activity preferences.

METHODS

Participants included 40 children (30 girls, 10 boys) from fourth and fifth grades, categorized as low active during recess (<26% moderate‐to‐vigorous PA [MVPA]). PA was measured via accelerometer (Actigraph wGT3X+) and activity choice gauged through a self‐report measure over a 3‐day period. To assess attitudes and perceptions of recess, individual interviews were conducted. Accelerometer data were analyzed into minutes and percentage of MVPA; interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed utilizing open and axial coding.

RESULTS

Participants were active for 18% of recess, choosing activities that were primarily individual‐based. Interview data showed low active children attribute recess enjoyment to social interaction and time away from schoolwork as well as an intention to avoid other children who were unkind and/or caused social conflict.

CONCLUSIONS

This study supports the importance of gaining a child's perspective of their own behavior, particularly those children classified as less active. Findings add a unique contribution to school health research through an innovative, child‐centered approach to explore perceptions of PA.

     

Physical activity and obesity: is there a difference in association between the Asian- and African- Surinamese adult population?

Objective: The role of different physical activity (PA) characteristics, i.e. domain, duration and intensity in obesity prevention still requires investigation. Furthermore, ethnicity can modify the effect of PA on body composition. Therefore, we aim to describe the association between obesity and PA characteristics across the Asian- and African-Surinamese population, living in the capital of Suriname.

Design: Between February 2013 and July 2015, we included 1157 healthy subjects, 18–70 years, from the Healthy Life in Suriname (HELISUR) study. We measured height, weight, hip and waist circumference and defined general and central obesity according to World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire was used to assess PA and to calculate the duration (minutes/week) and the total volume (METs-minutes/week) of activity. Ethnicity was self-reported.

Results: Out of 1157 participants we included 1079 (42.6% Asian-Surinamese, 40.1% African-Surinamese and 17.3% of other ethnicity), mean age 42.6?±?13.6 years for analysis. Obesity prevalence ratio (PR) was significantly lower in participants meeting WHO PA recommendations [PR=?0.81 (0.68–0.97)], especially within the commuting [PR=?0.66 (0.47–0.91)] and leisure time domains [PR=?0.67 (0.47–0.94)], compared to participants that did not meet the recommendations. Active minutes/week and total volume of activity were inversely associated with obesity and waist circumference, in the overall (p?<?0.05) and in the African-Surinamese population (p?<?0.05), but not in the Asian-Surinamese population.

Conclusion: Meeting PA recommendations, particularly within the commuting and leisure time domains, is associated with lower obesity prevalence in the total population. Among the African-Surinamese population, PA within the leisure time domain, more active minutes/week and higher levels of total volume are associated with a lower obesity prevalence. This is not found in the Asian-Surinamese population.     

The effect of physical activity on breast cancer risk: A cohort study of 30,548 women

Background: In epidemiological studies abundant physical activity has been related to decreased breast cancer risk, though the results have been inconsistent. The purpose of this paper was to study the association of physical activity at leisure and commuting to work and incidence of breast cancer. Methods: The study cohort consisted of 30,548 female participants of the Finnish adult health behaviour survey, based on annual random samples of Finns aged 15–64, collected in 1978–1993. By the end of 1995, 332 breast cancer cases had been diagnosed in the cohort. Relative risks of breast cancer were adjusted for age at survey, body mass index (BMI), education, length of follow-up, parity and age at first birth using Poisson regression models. Results: Compared to women exercising less than once a week, the adjusted relative risk of breast cancer for women exercising once a week was 0.80 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.58–1.10), for women exercising 2–3 times per week 0.92 (95% CI: 0.78–1.22) and for women exercising daily 1.01 (95% CI: 0.72–1.42). Women who reported commuting, walking or bicycling to work 30 min or more daily had slightly lower adjusted risk of breast cancer (RR: 0.87, 95% CI: 0.62–1.24) than women working at home, being unemployed or driving a car to working place. Conclusion: Although a small protective effect of regular physical activity for breast cancer incidence was found in physical activity when commuting to work, the role of the physical activity in breast cancer prevention is still an open question.