Health Literacy, Sociodemographic Factors, and Physical Activity: Evidence From Cross-Sectional Quantile Estimations

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Behavior
• Biostatistics

Background:

• Physical inactivity is a significant global health concern, contributing to numerous health issues.
• Understanding the interplay between health literacy, sociodemographic factors, and physical activity is crucial for public health interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between health literacy and sociodemographic factors with time spent on physical activity.
• To analyze these associations across different quantiles (0.1, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 0.9) of physical activity duration.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the Malaysian National Health and Morbidity Survey 2019.
• Employed quantile regression to examine differentials in physical activity time across various health literacy and sociodemographic groups.

Main Results:

• Excellent health literacy was associated with more physical activity time across all quantiles.
• Gender differences in physical activity varied by intensity; men were less active when inactive but more active when highly active.
• Income and education showed negative associations significant at higher physical activity quantiles.
• Employment status and locality had a greater impact on those with higher physical activity levels.
• Single individuals spent less time in physical activity than married individuals across all quantiles.

Conclusions:

• Health literacy and sociodemographic factors significantly influence physical activity levels.
• Intervention strategies should consider these factors and the distribution of time spent on physical activity for targeted approaches.