title: Physical activity among ethnically diverse college students.
abstract: The authors compared physical activity patterns among 874 Asian, 332 African, 1,101 White, and 529 Hispanic American college students aged 18 to 25 years. According to self-report responses, 46.7% of the sample did not engage in vigorous physical activity and 16.7% were physically inactive. Among women, ethnic-specific rates of physical inactivity were Asian, 28.1%; African, 23.5%; White, 17.4%; and Hispanic, 20.3%. For men, rates of inactivity were Asian 11.7%; African, 7.7%; White, 12.0%; and Hispanic, 13.8. Weight-training activity, youthful physical activity, and TV viewing accounted for a significant portion of the variance in physical activity levels (13.1% for women and 14.8% for men). The results of this study support the need for physical activity interventions for college students, particularly minorities.
authors.affiliation: School of Physical Activity and Educational Services, The Ohio State University, Columbus 43210-1224, USA. suminski.1@osu.edu
authors.forename: Richard R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Suminski
authors.forename: Rick
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Petosa
authors.forename: Alan C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Utter
authors.forename: James J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000367:Age Factors; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000886:Anthropometry; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D018864:Cultural Diversity; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style / Q000208:ethnology*; D008297:Male; D010809:Physical Fitness; D011336:Probability; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012494:Sampling Studies; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data