Race/Ethnicity, Social Class, and Leisure-Time Physical Inactivity

• DOI: 10.1249/01.mss.0000239401.16381.37
• Publication Date: 2007-01-10T09:15:00Z
• Authors: SIMON J. MARSHALL; DEBORAH A. JONES; BARBARA E. AINSWORTH; JARED P. REIS; SUSAN S. LEVY; CAROLINE A. MACERA
• Keywords: Adult; Male; Adolescent; Physical activity; Racial Groups; Middle Aged; Motor Activity; Health Surveys; United States; Surveillance surveys; Sedentary behavior; 03 medical and health sciences; Leisure Activities; Social Class; Socioeconomic status; Ethnicity; Humans; Female; 0305 other medical science; Aged

The aims of this study were to determine 1) prevalence of leisure-time physical inactivity in a nationally representative sample of non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, and Hispanic men and women; 2) prevalence of leisure-time inactivity by racial/ethnic group across social class indicators; and 3) the relationship between leisure-time inactivity and occupational physical activity, independent of other social class indicators.The National Physical Activity and Weight Loss Survey was a telephone survey of noninstitutionalized U.S. adults (4695 men, 6516 women) conducted by random digit dialing between September and December 2002. Self-reported physical activity was assessed using questions from the 2001 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Respondents who reported no moderate- or vigorous-intensity physical activity during leisure time in a usual week were classified as inactive. Indicators of social class were education, family income, employment status, and marital status.Age-adjusted prevalence of leisure-time inactivity was 9.9% +/- 0.6 SE (standard error) and 12.0 +/- 0.6 for white men and women, respectively; 19.0 +/- 2.5 and 25.2 +/- 2.1 for non-Hispanic black men and women, and 20.9 +/- 2.1 and 27.3 +/- 2.5 for Hispanic men and women. Within each racial/ethnic group, prevalence of leisure-time inactivity was highest among participants of lower social class. Differences in inactivity by racial/ethnic group were less evident after adjustment for social class. Odds of inactivity were similar across quartiles of occupational physical activity after adjustment for age, sex, and social class.Non-Hispanic blacks and Hispanics were more inactive during their leisure time than were non-Hispanic whites. Social class but not occupational physical activity seems to moderate the relationship between race/ethnicity and leisure-time physical inactivity.