Wilbur JoEllen, Chandler Peggy J, Dancy Barbara, Lee Hyeonkyeong
College of Nursing, University of Illinois at Chicago, 845 South Damen, Chicago, IL 60612, USA.
Am J Prev Med. 2003 Oct;25(3 Suppl 1):45-52. doi: 10.1016/s0749-3797(03)00164-8.
African-American women are at higher risk than white women of cardiovascular disease and stroke. In addition, fewer African-American women reap the cardiovascular benefits of exercise, because of low physical activity. The study goals were to identify personal, social environmental, and physical environmental correlates of physical activity of urban-dwelling, Midwestern, African-American women and to obtain their recommendations for increasing exercise in their communities.
A face-to-face interview (Women and Physical Activity Survey) covering personal, social environmental, and physical environmental correlates of physical activity was administered to 399 volunteer African-American women aged 20 to 50 years, living in Chicago. Physical activity was measured with questions on lifestyle and planned leisure-time activity (exercise) from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.
The women were from a wide socioeconomic spectrum of education and income. Forty-two percent of the women met current recommendations for moderate or vigorous physical activity; 48% were insufficiently active; and 9% were inactive. The following groups of women were more likely to be physically active: women with at least a high school education; women with perceived good health; women who knew people who exercise; and women who viewed the neighborhood as safe. These findings were statistically significant.
Interventions that target urban African-American women must address the safety of the physical environment and personal and social environmental correlates of physical activity, and they should focus especially on inactive women who have less than a high school education or perceive themselves to be in poor health.
非裔美国女性比白人女性患心血管疾病和中风的风险更高。此外，由于身体活动水平低，较少有非裔美国女性获得运动对心血管的益处。本研究的目的是确定居住在中西部城市的非裔美国女性身体活动的个人、社会环境和物理环境相关因素，并获取她们对在其社区增加运动的建议。
对399名年龄在20至50岁、居住在芝加哥的非裔美国女性志愿者进行了面对面访谈（女性与身体活动调查），内容涵盖身体活动的个人、社会环境和物理环境相关因素。身体活动通过行为危险因素监测系统中关于生活方式和计划休闲时间活动（锻炼）的问题来衡量。
这些女性来自教育和收入水平广泛的社会经济阶层。42%的女性达到了当前关于适度或剧烈身体活动的建议；48%的女性身体活动不足；9%的女性不活动。以下几组女性更有可能进行身体活动：至少受过高中教育的女性；自认为健康状况良好的女性；认识锻炼的人的女性；以及认为社区安全的女性。这些发现具有统计学意义。
针对城市非裔美国女性的干预措施必须解决物理环境的安全性以及身体活动的个人和社会环境相关因素，并且应特别关注未受过高中教育或自认为健康状况不佳的不活动女性。
