Elsevier

Preventive Medicine

Volume 51, Issue 2, August 2010, Pages 139-143
Preventive Medicine

Prevalence of highly active adults—Behavioral risk factor surveillance system, 2007

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2010.05.014Get rights and content

Abstract

Background

The 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans (2008 Guidelines) included a novel aerobic physical activity standard, in excess of minimum standards, for more extensive health benefits (> 300 minutes/week of moderate-intensity, 150 minutes/week of vigorous-intensity, or an equivalent combination). Prevalence estimates among US states have yet to be described for this new standard.

Methods

Respondents self-reported physical activity in the 2007 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System was used (n = 398,397). Total weekly aerobic activity was calculated for each respondent and 2008 Guidelines standards guided classification.

Results

In 2007, 43.5% (95% CI: 43.1%–43.8%) of adults met the new 2008 Guidelines standard and were classified as highly active (male, 48.3%; female, 38.9%). Linear patterns were noted by age and education, where younger age and higher levels of education had a higher proportion of highly active. Non-Hispanic whites (45.7%) had a significantly higher proportion of highly active compared with non-Hispanic blacks (37.5%) and Hispanics (37.6%). Variations in estimates were noted among those categorized as sufficiently active, insufficiently active, and inactive.

Conclusion

More than half of 2007 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System respondents did not meet the new 2008 Guidelines standard. Aerobic activity levels commensurate with more extensive health benefits should be encouraged among US adults.

Introduction

Participation in regular physical activity is one of the most important steps that can be taken to improve and maintain health and decrease the likelihood of morbidity and mortality from health conditions such as cardiovascular disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and certain types of cancer (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2008a, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2008b). The United States (US) Department of Health and Human Services released the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans (2008 Guidelines) in October 2008. The 2008 Guidelines are the end product of the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans Advisory Committee Report (Advisory Committee Report), the most comprehensive scientific review of the health benefits of physical activity in over a decade (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2008b). The 2008 Guidelines differed from previous recommendations as it contained two standards for aerobic physical activity: a minimum level to obtain substantial health benefits, and a second standard to obtain additional and more extensive health benefits.

Prevalence and US state- and territory based estimates using the minimum aerobic physical activity standards have been previously described (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2008, Loustalot et al., 2009). The minimum standard in the 2008 Guidelines was participation in at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity, 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity, or an equivalent combination of aerobic physical activity on a weekly basis. The purpose of this report is to summarize the prevalence and US state- and territory-based estimates of adults meeting the 2008 Guidelines standard to obtain additional and more extensive health benefits: at least 300 minutes of moderate-intensity, 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity, or an equivalent combination of aerobic physical activity on a weekly basis.

The new standard to obtain additional and more extensive health benefits set forth in the 2008 Guidelines was derived from the extensive review of the health benefits of physical activity described in the Advisory Committee Report (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2008b). While certain health benefits are obtained from participating in small amounts of aerobic physical activity (i.e., fall prevention, activities of daily living), higher levels of physical activity may be required to influence other health outcomes (i.e., colon and breast cancer, premature death) (Fulton et al., 2009). For example, to significantly reduce the risk for colon and breast cancer or enhance functional ability and energy balance, moderate-intensity physical activity in excess of 300 minutes per week of moderate-intensity physical activity may be required (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2008a).

Section snippets

Survey

The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is an ongoing, state- and territory-based, random-digit-dialed telephone survey of US adults (aged ≥ 18 years), from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, US Virgin Islands, Guam, and Puerto Rico. The survey collects data on preventive health practices and risk behaviors in the civilian, noninstitutionalized US adult population. For this analysis, 32,766 BRFSS respondents were excluded due to incomplete physical activity data, resulting in

Highly active

In 2007, 43.5% of BRFSS respondents were categorized as highly active (> 300 minutes per week) (Table 1). A significantly larger proportion of men than women were categorized as highly active. By age group, the highest proportion categorized as highly active was among younger respondents (18–24 years), and the lowest among older respondents (≥ 65 years). Among racial and ethnic groups, non-Hispanic whites had a significantly higher proportion categorized as highly active than all other racial/ethnic

Discussion

Our findings indicate that 43.5% of BRFSS 2007 respondents were categorized as highly active according to the 2008 Guidelines. In this analysis, higher prevalence estimates among those categorized as highly active were noted among males, young individuals, non-Hispanic whites, individuals having a higher level of education, those having a lower BMI, and those residing in the Western US; which is consistent with previous research (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2007, Centers for

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests, and no external funding was received for the study.

Acknowledgments

The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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