Association of body mass index to meeting physical activity recommendations

Objective: To investigate the association between BMI and physical activity based on the CDC-ACSM recommendation and a more demanding standard consistent with the IOM recommendation. Methods: A random-digit-dialed survey (n=1810) used 2001 BRFSS questions to measure physical activity. Results: Data revealed a monotonic association between BMI and physical activity level. Lower odds of meeting both recommendations were associated with higher BMI. The proportion meeting the CDC-ACSM recommendation was at least 3 times that of persons meeting the IOM-based recommendation. Conclusions: Meeting either recommendation was associated with BMI; however, a larger proportion of persons were meeting the less demanding CDC-ACSM recommendation.