Abstract
The relative contribution of walking to overall leisure-time physical activity participation rates was studied among respondents from the 45 states that participated in the 1990 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (n = 81,557). The percentages of low income, unemployed, and obese persons who engaged in leisure-time physical activity (range = 51.1% to 57.7%) were substantially lower than the percentage among the total adult population (70.3%). In contrast, the prevalence of walking for exercise among these sedentary groups (range = 32.5% to 35.9%) was similar to that among the total population (35.6%). Walking appears to be an acceptable, accessible exercise activity, especially among population subgroups with a low prevalence of leisure-time physical activity.
Keywords
Physical activityEpidemiologySedentary behaviorLeisure timePopulationDemographyMedicineGerontologySedentary lifestyleBehavioral Risk Factor Surveillance SystemPhysical therapyEnvironmental healthInternal medicine
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Publication Info
- Year
- 1995
- Type
- article
- Volume
- 85
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 706-710
- Citations
- 325
- Access
- Closed
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Cite This
Paul Z. Siegel,
Robert M. Brackbill,
Gregory W. Heath
(1995).
The epidemiology of walking for exercise: implications for promoting activity among sedentary groups..
American Journal of Public Health
, 85
(5)
, 706-710.
https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.85.5.706
Identifiers
- DOI
- 10.2105/ajph.85.5.706