title: Determinants of physical activity in a cohort of young adult women. Who is at risk of inactive behaviour?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To identify the biological, socio-demographic, work-related and lifestyle determinants of physical activity in young adult women.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective cohort study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Self-reported data from 11,695 participants (aged 22-27 years in 2000) in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health were collected over 9 years in 2000, 2003, 2006 and 2009. Generalised Estimating Equations were used to examine univariable and multivariable associations of body mass index, country of birth, area of residence, education, marital status, number of children, occupational status, working hours, smoking, alcohol intake, and stress with physical activity status (active, ≥600 MET·min/week; or inactive, <600 MET·min/week, consistent with public health guidelines).
  
  
  RESULTS
  All variables were significantly associated with physical activity in univariable models. In the multivariable model, the lowest odds of being active (compared with the relevant reference categories) were for women who: were born in Asia (OR=0.53), had less than 12 years of education (OR=0.79), were married (OR=0.66) or in a de facto relationship (OR=0.79), had at least one child (OR ranging from 0.67 to 0.69), and were classified as non (OR=0.66) or rare drinkers (OR=0.79).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results are among the first to confirm the biological, socio-demographic, work-related and lifestyle determinants of physical activity in women in their twenties and early thirties. These findings may be used to inform and improve the development of strategies, and to identify target groups most in need of intervention effort.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public and Occupational Health, EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Center, The Netherlands. Electronic address: l.uijtdewilligen@vumc.nl.
authors.forename: Léonie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Uijtdewilligen
authors.affiliation: The University of Queensland, School of Human Movement Studies, Australia.
authors.forename: Geeske M E E
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Peeters
authors.affiliation: The University of Queensland, School of Human Movement Studies, Australia; Victoria University, Institute of Sport, Exercise & Active Living, Australia.
authors.forename: Jannique G Z
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: van Uffelen
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, Section Methodology and Applied Biostatistics, VU University Medical Center, The Netherlands; Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, VU University Medical Center, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Jos W R
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Twisk
authors.affiliation: Department of Public and Occupational Health, EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Center, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Amika S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.affiliation: The University of Queensland, School of Human Movement Studies, Australia.
authors.forename: Wendy J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Brown
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D001315:Australia; D015992:Body Mass Index; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior / Q000208:ethnology; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D009043:Motor Activity; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012424:Rural Population; D057185:Sedentary Behavior / Q000208:ethnology; D012907:Smoking; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications; D013997:Time Factors; D014505:Urban Population; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Exercise; Female; Longitudinal studies; Odds ratio