Sociodemographic factors associated with physical activity in Mexican adults

Abstract

Objective: To estimate the physical activity level among Mexican adults and to establish the sociodemographic variables that may be linked to active lifestyles. Design: Data from a cross-sectional survey were analysed. Physical activity was assessed using the short version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. The independent variables were sex, age, socio-economic status and size of town. Ordinal regression models were fitted to assess the association of physical activity levels with sociodemographic factors. Setting: Fieldwork was conducted from November 2002 through April 2003; the non-response rate was 3?1 %. Subjects: Data from a national representative sample (n 38 746) of Mexican adults aged .18 years old were analysed. Results: Almost 60 % of the population was classified into the high physical activity level. Women were less active than men in rural areas; in urban areas, the opposite trend was observed. In women, higher socio-economic status was associated with less physical activity, while among men there were no differences. People from rural and urban areas had a higher probability of engaging in physical activity than those from cities. In urban localities and cities, respondents of low socio-economic status had a lower probability of engaging in physical activity. Conclusions: Using a validated instrument to measure physical activity, we found that the prevalence of active lifestyle among Mexican adults was high. The socioeconomic and gender inequalities are different according to size of town (i.e. an effect modifier), which must be considered in the design of policies and programmes to promote physical activity.

Prevalence and socio-demographic correlates of physical activity levels among South African adults in Cape Town and Mount Frere communities in 2008-2009

“…This study showed that, both in the urban site and overall, a higher proportion of single participants engaged in moderate-to-vigorous PA than those who were divorced or separated, and comparable results to these were reported by a study in Lebanon [44]. There are however also reports that show married people as being more active than the single people [45], and a study based in Nigeria found a positive association between being married and reaching sufficient PA levels [18]. However, in this study, being married was not a determinant factor for PA.…”

“…This study was restricted to adults only, in two provinces of South Africa, and its findings may not be applicable countrywide. Finally, another limiting factor of this study was that PA was assessed with a version of IPAQ, a self-report measure associated with overestimation of PA levels [45]. Nevertheless, this study was based on a large cohort of urban and rural South Africans, primarily of African descent which was assessed using a standardized method for surveying risk factors for chronic diseases.…”

The evaluation of physical activity for community‐dwelling patients with hypertension

“…Over half of the participants (58.4%) performed insufficient PA (<150 min/week). The proportion of insufficient PA was higher than those proportions obtained in previous studies, which ranged from 30.2%–53.6% (Adeniyi, Idowu, Ogwumike, & Adeniyi, ; Jackson, Herber‐Gast, & Brown, ; Ortiz‐Hernádez & Ramos‐Ibáñez, ; Vagetti et al., ). Two reasons may explain the difference.…”

Factors increasing the risk of inactivity among administrative, technical, and manual workers in Warszawa public institutions

“…What determines the level of physical activity -or rather their inactivity -among the Warszawa administration staff, technicians, and manual workers? Most reports have emphasized that the primary factor in changing a lifestyle is the place of residence [32] and awareness [33] (clearly connected with profession [34], income [35], and education [33]). The larger the city, the higher the activity.…”