Physical activity, exercise and self-rated health: a population-based study from Sweden

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Epidemiology
• Health Behavior

Background:

• Assessing physical activity is vital for identifying inactive populations and directing health interventions.
• Understanding different dimensions of physical activity is important for population-based studies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify the most inactive individuals by assessing two dimensions of physical activity.
• To investigate the correlation between exercise and total physical activity.
• To examine the association between physical activity and self-rated health.

Main Methods:

• A random sample of Swedish adults aged 25-64 years was surveyed in 1999.
• Two questions assessed exercise and total physical activity across various domains.
• Logistic regression models were employed to analyze the data.

Main Results:

• 4.3% of the sample were identified as the most inactive (no exercise, total physical activity ≤ 2 hours/week).
• A low correlation was found between exercise and total physical activity (gamma = 0.4, p = 0.02).
• Higher levels of both exercise and total physical activity were significantly associated with good self-rated health.

Conclusions:

• Both exercise and total physical activity independently predict good self-rated health.
• Utilizing multiple questions to assess various dimensions of physical activity is recommended for population surveys.
• Comprehensive physical activity assessment aids in identifying inactive individuals for targeted interventions.