TY - JOUR
T1 - Personal, social, and physical environmental correlates of physical activity levels in urban Latinas
AU - Voorhees, Carolyn C.
AU - Young, Deborah Rohm
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Special Interest Project 5-99 and by a grant from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. We gratefully acknowledge the work of recruiters, interviewers, translators, data managers, and analysts, particularly Ms. Jeanette Harris, Ms. Yvette Poole, Ms. Jana Sharp, Ms. Sue Shang, Ms. Jie Li, and Ms. Marcella Sapun. This work would not have been possible without the collaboration of Ms. Myrta Alonso of the Congregation Health Partnership of Northern Virginia, Ms. Elizabeth Smith of the Alexandria Health Department, Jorge and Carmen Arancibia of Marcelino Pan Y Vino, Inc., and Marina Giovannini of the Hispanic Committee of Virginia.
PY - 2003/10
Y1 - 2003/10
N2 - Background: Nationwide, Hispanic women report low levels of physical activity and bear excess health risk associated with inactivity. This study investigated the relationship between physical activity levels and sociodemographic, social environmental, and physical environmental factors. Design: A cross-sectional, community-based convenience sample of 285 Hispanic/Latino women completed a face-to-face survey administered in Spanish. Main Outcome Measures: The following categories of physical activity were used in analyses: "meets current national recommendations," which includes women who reported engaging in moderate activity at least 5 days per week for at least 30 minutes or who engaged in vigorous activity at least 3 days per week for at least 20 minutes; "insufficiently active" for women not meeting moderate or vigorous objectives; and "inactive" for women who report no moderate or vigorous physical activity. Results: The majority of women (46%) were aged 20 to 29 years, 48% have less than or equal to a high school education, 72% are employed, 43% speak Spanish, and 76% are from Central or South America. A total of 37% of the women met physical activity recommendations, 23% were inactive, and 40% were insufficiently active. Personal and physical environmental factors were not statistically significant correlates of activity level comparison groups; however, most indicated trends in the hypothesized direction. Social environmental factors that showed statistically significant relationships with various physical activity comparison groups included the following: Women were significantly less likely to be active if they reported knowing people who exercise (odds ratio [OR]=0. 42; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.23-0.76), reported that there are people in the neighborhood who exercise (adjusted OR=0.19; 95% CI, 0.09-0.42), belonged to community groups (OR=0.32; 95% CI, 0.15-0.69), or attended religious services (OR=0.41; 95% CI, 0.41-0.72). Conclusion: Social environmental factors appeared to be the most important factors related to physical activity in this group of Latino women. Physical environment and personal factors, although not statistically significant, showed trends in expected directions and should be explored further.
AB - Background: Nationwide, Hispanic women report low levels of physical activity and bear excess health risk associated with inactivity. This study investigated the relationship between physical activity levels and sociodemographic, social environmental, and physical environmental factors. Design: A cross-sectional, community-based convenience sample of 285 Hispanic/Latino women completed a face-to-face survey administered in Spanish. Main Outcome Measures: The following categories of physical activity were used in analyses: "meets current national recommendations," which includes women who reported engaging in moderate activity at least 5 days per week for at least 30 minutes or who engaged in vigorous activity at least 3 days per week for at least 20 minutes; "insufficiently active" for women not meeting moderate or vigorous objectives; and "inactive" for women who report no moderate or vigorous physical activity. Results: The majority of women (46%) were aged 20 to 29 years, 48% have less than or equal to a high school education, 72% are employed, 43% speak Spanish, and 76% are from Central or South America. A total of 37% of the women met physical activity recommendations, 23% were inactive, and 40% were insufficiently active. Personal and physical environmental factors were not statistically significant correlates of activity level comparison groups; however, most indicated trends in the hypothesized direction. Social environmental factors that showed statistically significant relationships with various physical activity comparison groups included the following: Women were significantly less likely to be active if they reported knowing people who exercise (odds ratio [OR]=0. 42; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.23-0.76), reported that there are people in the neighborhood who exercise (adjusted OR=0.19; 95% CI, 0.09-0.42), belonged to community groups (OR=0.32; 95% CI, 0.15-0.69), or attended religious services (OR=0.41; 95% CI, 0.41-0.72). Conclusion: Social environmental factors appeared to be the most important factors related to physical activity in this group of Latino women. Physical environment and personal factors, although not statistically significant, showed trends in expected directions and should be explored further.
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U2 - 10.1016/S0749-3797(03)00166-1
DO - 10.1016/S0749-3797(03)00166-1
M3 - Article
C2 - 14499811
AN - SCOPUS:0141429133
SN - 0749-3797
VL - 25
SP - 61
EP - 68
JO - American journal of preventive medicine
JF - American journal of preventive medicine
IS - 3 SUPPL. 1
ER -