Increasing physical activity, but persisting social gaps among middle-aged people: trends in Northern Sweden from 1990 to 2007

Figures & data

Table 1. Definitions of physical activity levels

	Questions on physical activity
Levels of physical activities	Mode of travel to and from work (Q1)		Recreational activity (Q2)		Physical exercise (Q3)
Sedentary	By bus or car during winter OR cycled or walked less than 2 km each way during winter	OR	Walked or cycled less than 3–4 times per month	OR	Never exercised during the last 3 months
Moderately active	Cycled or walked at 2–5 km each way during winter	OR	Walked or cycled at least 2 times per week	OR	Exercised, but not regularly, during the last 3 months
Physically active	Cycled or walked at least 5 km each way during winter	OR	Walked or cycled every day	OR	Exercised at least 2–3 times per week during the last 3 months

Note: The following three questions were used in the questionnaire:

(Q1). ‘How do you usually travel to and from work each of the four seasons? And what is the distance to your work?’

(Q2). ‘How often do you participate in recreational activities that require some physical effort?’ Two activities were asked about, i.e. walking and bicycling.

(Q3). ‘How often have you worked out or exercised in your training clothes during the last 3 months with the purpose of improving your physical condition and/or your well-being?’

We assumed that people who commute by walking or biking during winter with its cold, ice, and snow also do that the rest of the year.

Figure 1.  Physical activity level trends in Northern Sweden from 1990 to 2007 among men and women and by educational levels. Cross-sectional data from the Västerbotten Intervention Programme.

Table 2. Prevalence of physical activity levels among men and women by year and education, adjusted for age

Time period	Levels of education
	Basic education		Medium education		High education
	Men	Women	Men	Women	Men	Women
Sedentary (%)
1990–1995	26.4	14.9	22.2	12.6	13.8	10.5
1996–2001	28.1	15.7	24.4	14.1	14.9	11.6
2002–2007	28.4	13.9	23.1	11.8	12.6	8.4
1990–2007	27.3	15.2	23.4	12.7	13.7	9.8
Annual percentage changes (p-value)	0.30 (p=0.02)	−0.02 (p=0.85)	0.16 (p=0.14)	−0.08 (p=0.34)	−0.03 (p=0.78)	−0.15 (p=0.06)
Cumulative
percentage changes, 1990–2007 (%)	7.6	−6.7	4.1	−6.3	−8.7	−20.0
Moderate activity (%)
1990–1995	62.0	73.2	64.4	76.4	67.5	76.7
1996–2001	60.8	73.7	62.7	74.7	64.2	73.2
2002–2007	55.1	67.3	55.2	63.2	54.7	59.4
1990–2007	59.9	72.3	59.8	70.3	60.8	67.7
Annual percentage changes (p-value)	−0.64 (p<0.001)	−0.56 (p<0.001)	−0.79 (p<0.001)	−1.03 (p<0.001)	−1.06 (p<0.001)	−1.40 (p<0.001)
Cumulative
percentage changes, 1990–2007 (%)	−11.1	−8.1	−14.3	−17.3	−19.0	−22.6
Physically active (%)
1990–1995	11.5	11.7	13.4	11.1	18.8	12.9
1996–2001	11.0	10.1	12.9	11.2	20.9	15.2
2002–2007	16.6	18.7	21.5	24.8	32.6	32.0
1990–2007	12.8	12.4	16.7	17.0	25.5	22.5
Annual percentage changes (p-value)	0.36 (p=0.02)	0.60 (p=0.005)	0.62 (p < 0.001)	1.09 (p<0.001)	1.07 (p<0.001)	1.53 (p < 0.001)
Cumulative percentage changes, 1990–2007 (%)	44.3	59.8	60.4	123.4	73.4	148.1

Figure 2.  Ten-year changes in prevalence of sedentary behaviour at the individual level by sex and education. Cohort data from the Västerbotten Intervention Program.

Figure 3.  Ten-year changes in prevalence of sedentary behaviour at the individual level by sex and education. Cohort data from the Västerbotten Intervention Program.

Table 3. Age-adjusted proportion of physical activity patterns at baseline and 10-year follow-up among men and women (N=26,382)

Baseline	10-year follow-up
	Sedentary	Moderate activity	Physically active
Men (%)
Sedentary	10.2	11.3	1.8
Moderate activity	10.1	39.4	11.5
Physically active	1.1	6.6	8.1
Women (%)
Sedentary	3.8	8.0	1.4
Moderate activity	6.4	51.8	15.9
Physically active	0.6	6.0	6.1

Note: Numbers represent percentage within each sex group.