20-year individual physical activity patterns and related characteristics

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Epidemiology
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) is crucial for adult health.
• Understanding long-term LTPA patterns is essential for targeted public health interventions.
• Dutch adults' LTPA trajectories over two decades remain under-explored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and describe distinct LTPA patterns in Dutch adults over a 20-year period.
• To compare baseline characteristics of individuals across these identified LTPA patterns.

Main Methods:

• Longitudinal study of 2,518 Dutch adults (aged 26-65 at baseline) from 1994 to 2017.
• Self-reported physical activity data collected every 5 years to define five LTPA patterns: stable active, becoming active, becoming inactive, stable inactive, and varying.
• Multivariate logistic regression used to analyze associations between baseline characteristics and LTPA patterns.

Main Results:

• While overall activity levels remained stable (55-58%), 49.3% of participants shifted LTPA patterns over 20 years.
• Stable active (32.6%) and stable inactive (19.9%) were the most common patterns.
• Becoming active (15.2%), becoming inactive (11.6%), and varying activity (20.8%) also showed significant proportions.
• Baseline factors like age, education, smoking, obesity, diet adherence, and perceived health were associated with specific LTPA patterns.

Conclusions:

• Nearly half of Dutch adults exhibit dynamic LTPA behaviors over two decades.
• Baseline socio-demographic, lifestyle, and health factors significantly predict an individual's LTPA trajectory.
• Findings highlight the heterogeneity of LTPA patterns and the importance of considering individual characteristics in health promotion strategies.