Women interviewed for the study were almost twice as likely as men to
be physically inactive, say Antronette Yancey, M.D., M.P.H., of the UCLA
School of Public Health and colleagues. Older and less educated residents,
along with those born outside the United States, were also apt to be sedentary.
The findings appear in the August issue of the American
Journal of Preventive Medicine.
Sedentary behavior was more prevalent among those who said they were depressed
or in poor health, the researchers found. Yancey and colleagues also found
that feeling overweight was a better predictor of physical inactivity than
actual measures of overweight like body mass indices.
And once again, more “screen time” seems to
equal less exercise: County residents who spent three or more hours a
day watching television
or using a computer in their leisure time reported the highest levels
of physical inactivity.
“While much attention in advertising and the media has been devoted
to the obesity epidemic, it may also be important to promote physical activity
independent of weight loss,” Yancey says.
The researchers say government agencies could promote more exercise among
residents by becoming activity-friendly workplaces themselves.
“Sedentary, overweight and diverse captive audiences of adults can
be engaged in physical activity during the routine conduct of business,” Yancey
suggests.
“Society must share with its members some of the ‘cost’ of
adopting and maintaining an active lifestyle,” they add.
The study included data from a 1999-2000 random telephone survey of 8,353
Los Angeles County residents. The survey participants, all adults, were
interviewed in English, Spanish, Cantonese, Mandarin, Korean and Vietnamese.
The Los Angeles findings mirror those of other studies, which suggest
30 percent of Americans get little or no regular weekly exercise.
“Similar to the challenge of minimizing tobacco smoke exposure two
decades ago, the United States epidemic of obesity and sedentariness is
now of sufficient social magnitude and cost that increasing physical activity
participation can no longer be treated as an individual responsibility,” Yancey
says.
The study was supported by the California Department of Health Services
and the Los Angeles County Medicaid Demonstration Project.
