Moderate physical activity patterns of minority women: The cross-cultural activity participation study

Using data from 12 days of detailed physical activity records (PA records), we analyzed the physical activity patterns of 141 African American and Nat ive American women, ages 40 and older, enrolled in the Cross-Cultural Activ ity Participation Study. PA records were completed every other month for th ree consecutive 4-day periods. The proportion of women who met the 1993 Cen ters for Disease Control and Prevention and the American College of Sports Medicine recommendation to accumulate at least 30 minutes of moderate inten sity activity during most days of the week (at least 3 days of the 4-day pe riods) ranged from 63% to 70%. Nearly one third of women met the recommenda tion for more than one 4-day period. On days when subjects accumulated at l east 30 minutes of moderate activity, time spent in moderate activity was 1 12 minutes/day. Most women performed household chores (95%, median = 24 min utes/day), walking for exercise (87%, median = 30 minutes/day), occupationa l (65%, median = 37 minutes/day), child care (53%, median = 32 minutes/day) , and lawn and garden activities (51%, median = 43 minutes/day). Fewer than 25% reported conditioning and sports activities. In general, more Native A mericans than African Americans were active in moderate activities. In conc lusion, definitions used to characterize regular physical activity should b e consistent among studies, and physical activity surveys among women shoul d include occupation-related and home-related activities.