Race/Ethnicity, Social Class, and Leisure-Time Physical Inactivity
Race/Ethnicity, Social Class, and Leisure-Time Physical Inactivity
Purpose: 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.
Methods: 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.
Results: 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.
Conclusions: 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.
Physical inactivity is a major independent risk factor for chronic disease, and considerable evidence now exists that people of racial/ethnic minority groups share a disproportionate burden of a sedentary lifestyle compared with their white counterparts. In addition, data from three surveillance systems for leisure-time physical activity identified Hispanic and non-Hispanic blacks as being more inactive than other racial/ethnic minority groups and reported that trends were often exacerbated among women. These findings led to the development of national objectives that prioritize population-wide increases in moderate- and vigorous-intensity physical activity and elimination of disparities between physical activity for whites and racial and ethnic minority groups. Evidence suggests progress toward these objectives. The prevalence of leisure-time inactivity among most racial/ethnic groups seems to be decreasing, but the rate of decrease has been slowest among Hispanics and non-Hispanic blacks.
The reasons for racial/ethnic differences in leisure-time inactivity remain unclear; in some cases, cultural attitudes about desirable and healthy body weight may influence physical activity behavior. However, focusing on racial/ethnic differences in the prevalence of physical activity downplays the importance of social class, which is correlated with physical activity and is known to be an independent determinant of health status. Relationships among race/ethnicity, social class, physical activity, and disease are complex, but it has been hypothesized that social class may moderate the relationship between race/ethnicity and physical activity and that physical activity may mediate the relationship between race/ethnicity and disease.
Measures of social class in studies of leisure-time physical activity are often based on single indicators of occupation, education, or income. Because social class indicators may be both independent and interdependent, epidemiologists have recommended the use of multiple indicators, especially if the conceptual relevance is unclear. Few studies in the literature on physical activity have measured social class by using multiple indicators, and only one examined social class as a moderating factor in the relationships between race/ethnicity and leisure-time physical inactivity. Using data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, Crespo and colleagues found that differences in leisure-time inactivity among racial/ethnic groups were not explained entirely by education, occupation, employment, poverty status, and marital status. However, a limitation of that study was that occupational physical activity was not measured. This is an important limitation because the amount of physical activity accrued during leisure time has been shown to be inversely related to the amount of physical activity accrued at work and because occupational physical activity is known to differ by social class and race/ethnicity.
To elucidate the role of social class in the relationship between race/ethnicity and leisure-time physical inactivity, researchers need more data from nationally representative population samples that contain multiple indicators of social class. Assessment of occupational physical activity is also important. The purposes of this study were to determine 1) the prevalence of leisure-time physical inactivity in a nationally representative sample of non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, and Hispanic men and women; 2) the prevalence of inactivity between these racial/ethnic groups across different indicators of social class; and 3) the relationship between occupational physical activity and leisure-time physical inactivity among these racial/ethnic groups, independent of other social class indicators.
Purpose: 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.
Methods: 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.
Results: 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.
Conclusions: 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.
Physical inactivity is a major independent risk factor for chronic disease, and considerable evidence now exists that people of racial/ethnic minority groups share a disproportionate burden of a sedentary lifestyle compared with their white counterparts. In addition, data from three surveillance systems for leisure-time physical activity identified Hispanic and non-Hispanic blacks as being more inactive than other racial/ethnic minority groups and reported that trends were often exacerbated among women. These findings led to the development of national objectives that prioritize population-wide increases in moderate- and vigorous-intensity physical activity and elimination of disparities between physical activity for whites and racial and ethnic minority groups. Evidence suggests progress toward these objectives. The prevalence of leisure-time inactivity among most racial/ethnic groups seems to be decreasing, but the rate of decrease has been slowest among Hispanics and non-Hispanic blacks.
The reasons for racial/ethnic differences in leisure-time inactivity remain unclear; in some cases, cultural attitudes about desirable and healthy body weight may influence physical activity behavior. However, focusing on racial/ethnic differences in the prevalence of physical activity downplays the importance of social class, which is correlated with physical activity and is known to be an independent determinant of health status. Relationships among race/ethnicity, social class, physical activity, and disease are complex, but it has been hypothesized that social class may moderate the relationship between race/ethnicity and physical activity and that physical activity may mediate the relationship between race/ethnicity and disease.
Measures of social class in studies of leisure-time physical activity are often based on single indicators of occupation, education, or income. Because social class indicators may be both independent and interdependent, epidemiologists have recommended the use of multiple indicators, especially if the conceptual relevance is unclear. Few studies in the literature on physical activity have measured social class by using multiple indicators, and only one examined social class as a moderating factor in the relationships between race/ethnicity and leisure-time physical inactivity. Using data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, Crespo and colleagues found that differences in leisure-time inactivity among racial/ethnic groups were not explained entirely by education, occupation, employment, poverty status, and marital status. However, a limitation of that study was that occupational physical activity was not measured. This is an important limitation because the amount of physical activity accrued during leisure time has been shown to be inversely related to the amount of physical activity accrued at work and because occupational physical activity is known to differ by social class and race/ethnicity.
To elucidate the role of social class in the relationship between race/ethnicity and leisure-time physical inactivity, researchers need more data from nationally representative population samples that contain multiple indicators of social class. Assessment of occupational physical activity is also important. The purposes of this study were to determine 1) the prevalence of leisure-time physical inactivity in a nationally representative sample of non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, and Hispanic men and women; 2) the prevalence of inactivity between these racial/ethnic groups across different indicators of social class; and 3) the relationship between occupational physical activity and leisure-time physical inactivity among these racial/ethnic groups, independent of other social class indicators.