Changes and tracking of physical activity across seven years in Mexican-American and European-American mothers.
Longitudinal changes in physical activity among 129 Mexican-American (mean age 30.8; SD = 5.6) and 97 European-American (mean age 31.2; SD = 5.4) women were studied. Two physical activity recall interviews were administered at baseline and 7 years later. At baseline, European-American women reported more vigorous leisure activity (p < .005) than Mexican-Americans, and Mexican-Americans reported more moderate work activity (p < .02) than European-Americans. Virtually all components of physical activity increased significantly over the 7 years. Pearson tracking correlations for total energy expenditure were about r = 0.30. The finding that both groups increased physical activity overtime was unexpected and was unrelated to a reduction in the number of preschool children in the homes over time.
Sallis
J F
JF
Department of Pyschology, San Diego State University, CA 92120, USA. sallis@mail.sdsu.edu
Greenlee
L
L
McKenzie
T L
TL
Broyles
S L
SL
Zive
M M
MM
Berry
C C
CC
Brennan
J
J
Nader
P R
PR
D000328:Adult; D001835:Body Weight; D002140:California; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D017058:Mexican Americans / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010809:Physical Fitness; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016387:Women's Health