title: Physical activity and sedentary behaviors in postpartum Latinas: Madres para la Salud.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviors of postpartum Latinas who are overweight or obese before initiating Madres para la Salud, a social support-mediated walking intervention to promote postpartum weight loss.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred thirty-nine postpartum women (13.6 ± 7.7 wk since childbirth, age = 28.3 ± 5.6 yr, BMI = 29.7 ± 3.5 kg · m(-2); mean ± SD), recruited from organizations serving Latino residents in the Phoenix, Arizona, area completed the Stanford Brief Activity Survey and concurrently wore an accelerometer (ActiGraph) and a pedometer for 7 d and kept a PA record.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Most were classified as inactive and lightly active on the Stanford Brief Activity Survey (51% inactive, 37% light, 11% moderate). Most time was spent in sedentary (512.0 ± 169.9 min · d(-1)) and light-intensity PA (242.4 ± 51.4 min · d(-1)) with less time in moderate-intensity lifestyle (78.3 ± 39.9 min · d(-1)), moderate-intensity walking (16.6 ± 14.4 min · d(-1)), and vigorous-intensity PA (0.34 ± 1.5 min · d(-1)). Pedometer steps per day were low (total = 4973 ± 2202 steps, aerobic = 412 ± 774 steps), with most participants rated as sedentary (61%) or low active (28.1%). Consistent with objective PA measures, PA records showed more time spent in light-intensity PA such as home care, cooking, child care and self-care tasks, occupation, religious events, and watching television.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  By and large, the postpartum Latinas enrolled spent most of their day in low-intensity activity levels with little time spent in health-enhancing PA levels/behaviors. This demographic should be the focus of PA interventions to increase PA to health-enhancing levels.
authors: Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ 85003, USA. Barbara.ainsworth@asu.edu
authors: Barbara E
authors: BE
authors: Ainsworth
authors: Colleen
authors: C
authors: Keller
authors: Stephen
authors: S
authors: Herrmann
authors: Michael
authors: M
authors: Belyea
authors: Kathryn
authors: K
authors: Records
authors: Allison
authors: A
authors: Nagle-Williams
authors: Sonia
authors: S
authors: Vega-López
authors: Paska
authors: P
authors: Permana
authors: Dean V
authors: DV
authors: Coonrod
mesh_terms: D061725:Accelerometry; D000328:Adult; D001130:Arizona; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D009043:Motor Activity; D009765:Obesity / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology; D050177:Overweight / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D049590:Postpartum Period / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D057185:Sedentary Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires