Physical activity in three regional communities in Queensland. (15th April 2013)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Brown, Wendy J.; Burton, Nicola W.; Sahlqvist, Shannon; Heesch, Kristiann C.; McCarthy, Kylah B.; Ng, Norman; van, Jannique G.Z.
• Is Part Of: Australian journal of rural health. Volume 21:Number 2(2013:Apr.)
• Page Start: 112
• Page End: 120
• Publication Date: 2013-04-15
• Subjects: Rural health -- Periodicals; Rural health -- Australia -- Periodicals; 613
• DOI: 10.1111/ajr.12015
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1038-5282

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main"> <title>Abstract</title> <sec id="ajr12015-sec-0001" sec-type="section"> <title>Objective</title> <p>To describe physical activity participation in three Queensland regional communities.</p> </sec> <sec id="ajr12015-sec-0002" sec-type="section"> <title>Design</title> <p>Cross‐sectional mail survey of randomly selected residents, stratified by age and sex.</p> </sec> <sec id="ajr12015-sec-0003" sec-type="section"> <title>Setting</title> <p>Esk, Mareeba and Mount Isa.</p> </sec> <sec id="ajr12015-sec-0004" sec-type="section"> <title>Participants</title> <p>1219 (58% women) adults, with a mean age 46.7 (standard deviation 14.7) years.</p> </sec> <sec id="ajr12015-sec-0005" sec-type="section"> <title>Main outcome measures</title> <p>Proportion of people inactive, meeting Australian activity guidelines (a minimum of 150 min week<sup>−1</sup> and five sessions week<sup>−1</sup>) and walking a dog daily; time spent walking and cycling for transport; location and type of recreational physical activities.</p> </sec> <sec id="ajr12015-sec-0006" sec-type="section"> <title>Results</title> <p>Overall, 18% of respondents were inactive, with the highest proportions among women (22.3%) and older adults in Mount Isa (24.3%). The proportion meeting activity guidelines was 47%, with the lowest proportion among women in Mount Isa (40.4%). Although 63% reported owning a dog, only 22% reported walking a dog daily. Few people reported walking or cycling for transport. The most common types of activities were walking, home‐based exercise, running/jogging and swimming, and the most common location was at or near home.</p> </sec> <sec id="ajr12015-sec-0007" sec-type="section"> <title>Conclusions</title> <p>Physical activity levels were lower in these regional communities than the state average. The findings indicate a need for physical activity policy and intervention strategies targeting regional and rural areas. This could focus on women and older adults, dog walking and physical activity opportunities in or near the home.</p> </sec> </abstract>