A representative sample of 778 inhabitants of Canton Basel-Stadt aged 16 to 75 years were asked about their exercise habits and reasons for participating in or abstaining from sports (Response rate: 81%). 56% of the responders took part in a sport more than once a month; the percentage was higher among younger adults and markedly lower among obese subjects. For 27% of the "active" respondents, the most important single motivation for sports was "fun, pleasure und well-being", in 20% of the cases "fitness", in 16% "health" and in 12% "compensation for work and relaxation". For 32% of the "inactive" group, the main reason for abstaining from sports was "lack of time", for 22% "no interest" and in 16% of the cases "sickness or disability"; "no clubs or sports-facilities" was hardly ever mentioned as a reason for being physically inactive (1%). Some significant differences were found when sociodemographic subgroups were analysed. For example, "health" was more often given as a reason for sports by the elderly, and "compensation for work and relaxation" was more often mentioned as the level of education rose. "Lack of time" was a more frequent reason for being physically inactive among young adults, whereas "sickness" was more important among the elderly. A better knowledge of the relative importance of the motivation for leisure time physical activity is likely to be significant for effective sports-promotion.
Lead concentration in whole blood of a representative sample of 471 subjects aged 20 to 74 years and living in Basle was determined in 1989/90 by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The participants in the cross-sectional study filled in a questionnaire on demographic factors, nutrition and drinking habits. The age-adjusted geometrical mean blood lead level was 0.38 +/- 0.19 mumol/litre of whole blood for males, and 0.29 +/- 0.17 mumol/litre for females. The average lead burden was about 30% below the mean concentration found in a comparable population in Western Switzerland five years earlier. Lead emissions in Switzerland decreased by about 40% from 1984 to 1990 through restriction of lead in petrol. This offers the most plausible explanation for the low blood lead levels found in Basle. Sex, age, occupation (employment in painting or printing, construction or the metal processing industry), smoking and alcohol intake (especially wine consumption) were identified as independent blood lead predictors in a multiple linear regression analysis. Participants who consumed alcohol daily had blood lead concentrations on average 12% higher than those of abstinent subjects. Regular smokers had an unconfounded average blood lead level 8% above that of people who never smoked. Place of residence and hourly frequency of cars in that area were not identified as independent predictors in the model. The analysis of 99 different wines on the market in Basle showed an average lead concentration of 50 +/- 17 micrograms/litre wine. Compared to an estimated 25 micrograms daily nutritional intake of lead in Switzerland the value appeared to be high.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
In a representative cross-sectional study of the population of Basel, Switzerland (252 men, 281 women, mean age 48 [25-74] years), there was a significant association between the consumption of meat and sausages, determined from a questionnaire, and the total serum cholesterol concentration. In subjects who ate meat or sausages daily, the mean cholesterol concentration was 6.29 mmol/l (242 mg/dl) (95% confidence interval 6.06-6.52 mmol/l) for men, and 6.63 mmol/l (255 mg/dl) (95% confidence interval 6.35-6.91 mmol/l) for women. In subjects who consumed meat or sausages at most once per week, the mean cholesterol concentration was 5.66 mmol/l (218 mg/dl) (95% confidence interval 4.99-6.33 mmol/l) for men, and 5.33 mmol/l (205 mg/dl) (95% confidence interval 4.98-5.68 mmol/l) for women. The association remained significant (P less than 0.001) using multiple linear regression (taking age, sex, social grouping, body mass index and consumption of whole-grain bread, yoghurt or cottage cheese, eggs and alcohol as possible confounding factors). The HDL-cholesterol fraction was not influenced by consumption of meat and sausages. These results support the nutritional advice concerning, among other things, a reduction in the intake of animal fats.
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