Associations of awareness of physical activity recommendations for health and self-reported physical activity behaviours among adult South Australians

Berry, Narelle M, Nolan, Rebecca and Dollman, James (2016) Associations of awareness of physical activity recommendations for health and self-reported physical activity behaviours among adult South Australians. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 19 (10). 837–842. ISSN 1878-1861

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Abstract

OBJECTIVES: Despite widespread media campaigns to encourage physical activity (PA), participation is poor among Australian adults. This study aimed to explore the prevalence of and relationships between awareness of PA recommendations and PA participation.  DESIGN: Cross-sectional study of n=2402 South Australian adults (aged≥18 years) via a computer-assisted telephone interview.  METHODS: PA recommendation awareness was determined by asking for the number of minutes of PA recommended for health benefits and whether PA is needed to make you 'puff and pant' to confer a health benefit. Respondents were defined as sufficiently active if they reported ≥150min/week of PA as measured by the Active Australia Survey.  RESULTS: A total of 43.0% correctly identified that 30min of PA is recommended per day (Recommendation 1) and 43.3% correctly disagreed/strongly disagreed that PA is needed to make you 'puff and pant' (Recommendation 2). Overall, 60.6% of respondents were sufficiently active. Of those who correctly identified Recommendation 1, 53.2% reported participating in sufficient PA, significantly fewer than those who did not know Recommendation 1 (69.6%) (χ(2)=64.74 (4), p<0.001). There was no difference in levels of sufficient PA between those who correctly identified Recommendation 2 and those who did not.  CONCLUSIONS: There was relatively low awareness of PA recommendations among South Australian adults. More research is needed in how recommendations are promoted and how they impact PA behaviours. PA recommendations are based on the best available epidemiological evidence but largely fail to guide the choices people currently make about PA.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Copyright © 2016 Sports Medicine Australia. All rights reserved.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	physical activity,guidelines,awareness,exercise,physical fitness,adults
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Norwich Medical School
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Cardiovascular and Metabolic Health Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Nutrition and Preventive Medicine
Depositing User:	Pure Connector
Date Deposited:	10 Jun 2016 16:00
Last Modified:	28 Oct 2022 08:47
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/59299
DOI:	10.1016/j.jsams.2015.12.521

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