Abstract
Energy expenditure in leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) was measured using the Minnesota LTPA Questionnaire in 35- to 74-year-old black and white residents of Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota. Estimates of the geometric mean LTPA energy expenditure were 129 and 204 kcal per day for black and white men (p<.05) and 91 and 123 kcal per day for black and white women (p<.05). The percentage of individuals expending 2000 kcal or more per week in LTPA was significantly lower in black men than white men (25 vs. 35%; p=.01) but was not different in black versus white women (18 vs. 17%). Although black men and women reported greater occupational physical activity than their white counterparts, LTPA and job activity were unrelated in all race and sex groups. In both races, LTPA energy expenditure declined with age. LTPA increased with level of formal education, and the largest LTPA difference between blacks and whites was observed in those who had a high-school diploma or less. Blacks had lower participation rates than whites in most of the individually assessed physical activities. Additional research is needed on the determinants and promoters of LTPA in population subgroups.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Blackburn, H. (1983). Physical activity and coronary heart disease: A brief update and population view (Part 1).J. Cardiac Rehab. 3(2): 101–111.
Blair, S. N., Jacobs, D. R., Jr., and Powell, K. E. (1985). Relationships between exercise or physical activity and other health behaviors.Public Health Rep. 100(2): 172–180.
Caspersen, C. J., Christenson, G. M., and Pollard, R. A. (1986). Status of the 1990 physical fitness and exercise objectives—evidence from NHIS 1985.Public Health Rep. 101(6): 587–592.
Cassel, J., Heyden, S., Bartel, A. G., Kaplan, B. H., Tyroler, H. A., Cornoni, J. C., and Hames, C. G. (1971). Occupation and physical activity and coronary heart disease.Arch. Intern. Med. 128(6): 920–928.
Dishman, R. K., Sallis, J. F., and Orenstein, D. R. (1985). The determinants of physical activity and exercise.Public Health Rep. 100(2): 158–171.
Dixon, W. J. (ed.) (1985).BMDP Statistical Software Manual, University of California Press, Berkeley.
Folsom, A. R., Caspersen, C. J., Taylor, H. L., Jacobs, D. R., Jr., Luepker, R. V., Gomez-Marin, O., Gillum., R. F., and Blackburn, H. (1985). Leisure time physical activity and its relationship to coronary risk factors in a population-based sample: The Minnesota Heart Survey.Am. J. Epidemiol. 121(4): 570–579.
Folsom, A. R., Jacobs, D. R., Jr., Caspersen, C. J., Gomez-Marin, O., and Knudsen, J. (1986). Test-retest reliability of the Minnesota Leisure Time Physical Activity Questionnaire.J. Chron. Dis. 39(7): 505–511.
Leon, A. S., Jacobs, D. R., Jr., DeBacker, G., and Taylor, H. L. (1981). Relationship of physical characteristics and life habits to treadmill exercise capacity.Am. J. Epidemiol. 113(6): 653–660.
Leon, A. S., Connett, J., Jacobs, D. R., Jr., and Rauramaa, R. (1987). Leisure-time physical activity levels and risk of coronary heart disease and death: The Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial.JAMA 258(17): 2388–2395.
National Center for Health Statistics (1978). Exercise and participation in sports among persons 20 years of age and over: United States, 1975. Advance Data, No. 19. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.
Powell, K. E., Thompson, P. D., Caspersen, C. J., and Kendrick, J. S. (1987). Physical activity and the incidence of coronary heart disease.Annu. Rev. Public Health 8: 253–287.
Sallis, J. F., Haskell, W. L., Wood, P. D., Fortmann, S. P., Rogers, T., Blair, S. N., and Paffenbarger, R. S., Jr. (1985). Physical activity assessment methodology in the Five-City Project.Am. J. Epidemiol. 121(1): 91–106.
Schoenborn, C. A. (1986). Health habits of U.S. adults, 1985: The “Alameda 7” revisited.Public Health Rep. 101(6): 571–580.
Shephard, R. J., and Sidney, K. H. (1978). Exercise and aging.Exerc. Sport Sci. Rev. 6: 1–57.
Sprafka, J. M., Folsom, A. R., Burke, G. L., and Edlavitch, S. A. (1988). Prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors in blacks and whites: The Minnesota Heart Survey.Am. J. Public Health 78(12): 1546–1549.
Stephens, T., Jacobs, D. R., Jr., and White, C. C. (1985). A descriptive epidemiology of leisure-time physical activity.Public Health Rep. 100(2): 147–158.
Taylor, H. L., Jacobs, D. R., Jr., Schucker, B., Knudsen, J., Leon, A. S., and DeBacker, G. (1978). A questionnaire for the assessment of leisure time physical activities.J. Chron. Dis. 31(12): 741–755.
White, C. C., Powell, K. E., Hogelin, G. C., Gentry, E. M., and Forman, M. R. (1987). The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveys. IV. The descriptive epidemiology of exercise.Am. J. Prev. Med. 3(6): 304–310.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
The research was funded by National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Research Grant R01 HL 23727 and National Research Award T32 HL 07328-10.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Folsom, A.R., Cook, T.C., Sprafka, J.M. et al. Differences in leisure-time physical activity levels between blacks and whites in population-based samples: The Minnesota heart survey. J Behav Med 14, 1–9 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00844764
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00844764