Self-rated health according to amount, intensity and duration of leisure time physical activity

To examine the dose-response relationship between leisure time physical activity (LTPA) and self-rated health.

A survey (n=18,058) representative of the population aged 18-64years of Madrid (Spain) conducted between 2000 and 2008. A questionnaire on the frequency and duration of numerous activities was used to assess the total amount, the intensity, and the duration of LTPA. Self-rated health was classified as optimal or sub-optimal (fair/bad/very bad). Analyses were performed using logistic regression.

Compared with no LTPA, active people in the lowest quintile for total amount of LTPA showed an odds ratio (OR) of sub-optimal health of 0.69; a linear dose-response relationship (p<0.001) was observed, with the OR gradually decreasing to 0.49 in the highest quintile of LTPA. There was an inverse gradient for LTPA intensity adjusted for energy expenditure, so that the OR of sub-optimal health was 0.69 for light LTPA, 0.60 for moderate, and 0.48 for vigorous (p linear trend <0.001). For the same duration, the frequency of optimal health increases with the intensity of LTPA.

The total amount of LTPA shows a graded and continuous association with better self-rated health. The benefits of LTPA on self-rated health increase with the intensity of the activity.