Sociodemographic, health-related, and acculturation determinants of physical activity participation among Asian American women

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess Asian American (AsAm) women’s physical activity (PA) and identify predictors (sociodemographic, health-related, and acculturation) of leisure, transportation, and work PA (LPA, TPA, and WPA; respectively). We used data from 1605 AsAm women in the 2011–2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. PA was self-reported as minutes of weekly LPA, TPA, and WPA. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to build models for meeting the recommendation of ≥150 min of weekly moderate-vigorous intensity PA for each PA domain. About 34% of AsAms met the aerobic PA recommendation through LPA, 16% through WPA, and 15% through TPA. However, less than half of AsAm women met the aerobic PA recommendation through work, transportation, or leisure PA. For the work domain, odds of meeting the aerobic PA recommendation were lower for those who were older (p <.001), had lower body mass index (p =.011), or were non-English speaking (p <.001). For the transportation domain, odds of meeting the aerobic PA recommendation were higher in those who were older (p =.008), were single (p =.017), had lower systolic blood pressure (p =.009), or were living in the US for <15 years (p =.034). For the leisure domain, odds of meeting the aerobic PA recommendation were higher in those with higher education (p <.001), were single (p =.016), had better perceived health status (p-value <0.001), or were US-born (p <.001). Sociodemographics, health-related, and acculturation factors influenced PA differently for each domain. Findings from this study can inform approaches to increase PA across different domains.

Keywords

• Acculturation
• Asian American
• Health
• Physical activity
• Women
• Sociodemographic