Attitudes and Beliefs Associated with Leisure-Time Physical Activity among African American Adults

Objective—More than 60 % of African American adults do not meet recommendations for moderate physical activity. We sought to discover the extent to which health attitudes and beliefs are associated with leisure-time physical activity in this population. Design—Cross-sectional study. Setting—African American adults were asked about their health attitudes and beliefs during a national survey. Participants—Participants were 807 African American men and women aged 18 years and older. Random-digit dialing was employed, sampling telephone numbers by geographical region, area code, and population size. Main Outcome Measures—Participants were asked six health belief questions on the importance of exercise and body weight in health. Logistic regression was used to determine which of these factors were associated with physical activity participation. Results—The percent of respondents participating in some form of physical activity during the past month was 87.1 % in men and 82.9 % in women. Factors associated with previous mont