Physical Activity. The Scottish Health Survey 2008, Vol. 1

The physical activity questions collected details of people’s participation in housework, manual work/gardening/DIY, walking, sports and exercise in the last four weeks. x The proportion of the population aged 16 to 74 participating in any physical activity for at least 15 minutes in the last four weeks increased from 80% in 1998 to 83% in 2008 in men, and from 80% to 82% in women aged 16 to 74. However, for both men and women, rates of participation were the same in 2003 and 2008. x The proportions of men and women aged 16 to 74 meeting the physical activity recommendations (30 minutes of at least moderate exercise on most days of the week) increased significantly from 40% in 1998 to 46% in 2008 in men, and from 29% in 1998 to 35% in 2008 in women. x From 2008, activities of 10-14 minutes duration are also being counted. Including activities of at least 10 minutes duration, in 2008 the most common activity type in the past 4 weeks among men was sports and exercise (54%), followed by heavy housework (47%) and walking (39%). For women, the most common activity type was heavy housework (63%) followed by sports and exercise (45%) and walking (32%). x 39% of adults aged 16 and over in 2008 met the physical activity recommendations, 45% of men and 33% of women. The Scottish Government’s target is for 50% of adults to meet the recommendations by 2022. Men and women in the younger age groups were more likely to meet the recommendations than their older counterparts. Men in all age groups were consistently more likely to meet the recommendations than were women. x Regression analysis was used to explore the relationship between a range of factors and the odds of meeting the physical activity recommendations. The odds of men and women being highly active decreased with age, increased with equivalised income, were lower among those who were overweight or obese, and were also associated with socio-economic classification. In addition, area deprivation was significant for men, and parental socioeconomic classification was significant for women