Accelerometer-Measured Physical Activity in Chinese Adults

Background: Following adoption of a Western lifestyle, China is experiencing a decline in physical activity levels, which is projected to contribute to future increases in the burden of chronic diseases. Purpose: This study aims to target public health interventions and identify personal characteristics associated with physical activity and sedentary behavior in urban Chinese adults. Methods: In a sample of 576 men and women aged 40-74 years from Shanghai, multiple logistic regression was used to examine demographic, anthropometric, and lifestyle factors in relation to levels of physical activity and sedentary behavior assessed by Actigraph accelerometers. Results: Participants spent 317 minutes/day in physical activity and 509 minutes/day sedentary. In multivariate models, people aged 60 years were significantly less likely than those aged <50 years to engage in physical activity (OR=0.29, 95% CI=0.17, 0.49) and more likely to spend time sedentary (OR=2.77, 95% CI=1.53, 5.05). Similarly, obese individuals were less likely to be physically active (OR=0.34, 95% CI=0.17, 0.66) and they were suggestively more likely to be sedentary (OR=1.87, 95% CI=0.94, 3.71) than normal-weight individuals. Furthermore, current cigarette smokers were less physically active than those who formerly or never smoked (OR=0.47, 95% CI=0.28, 0.78). Conclusions: Physical activity promotion programs in urban China should target older people, obese individuals, and cigarette smokers, as these population subgroups exhibited low levels of physical activity. (Am J Prey Med 2010;38(6):583-591) Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of American Journal of Preventive Medicine