title: Assessment of participation in physical activities and relationship to socioeconomic and health factors. The controversial value of self-perception.
abstract: Physician counseling on physical activities for sedentary people is usually based on anamneses. The aim of the present study was to investigate the accuracy of self-perception of participation in physical activities, and the correlation of physical activity with background factors. A random sample of 276 individuals aged 20-65 years completed a detailed questionnaire on type and intensity of physical activity and associated socioeconomic and health factors. Physical activities were divided into work, leisure-time, and sports and rated according to Baecke's four-item index. In addition, subjects answered a yes/no item that resembled the general question regarding physical activity usually asked by physicians in a typical anamnesis. About half of the population was found to lead a sedentary life-style. The lower the level of education, the greater the physical activity at work. Males had a higher sports index than females. Interestingly, 1.3% of those with a high questionnaire score reported on the anamnesis question that they did not engage in regular physical activity, whereas 17.5% with a low questionnaire score answered "yes" to the last item. In conclusion, self-reports on physical activity may be inaccurate and to ensure proper counseling, primary care physicians must place greater weight on the patient history.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Practice, Haemek Medical Center, Afula and Rapaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.
authors.forename: Yacov
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fogelman
authors.forename: Boaz
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bloch
authors.forename: Ernesto
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kahan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003376:Counseling; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006266:Health Education; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology; D007899:Leisure Activities; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009043:Motor Activity; D020380:Needs Assessment; D012649:Self Concept; D012737:Sex Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013177:Sports; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires