Ng Shu Wen, Norton Edward C, Popkin Barry M
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7411, USA.
Soc Sci Med. 2009 Apr;68(7):1305-14. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2009.01.035. Epub 2009 Feb 18.
Between 1991 and 2006, average weekly physical activity among adults in China fell by 32%. This paper discusses why total and occupational physical activity levels have fallen, and models the association between the rapid decline and various dimensions of exogenous community urbanization. We hypothesize that a) physical activity levels are negatively associated with urbanization; b) urbanization domains that affect job functions and opportunities will contribute most to changes in physical activity levels; and c) these urbanization domains will be more strongly associated for men than for women because home activities account for a larger proportion of physical activity for women. To test these hypotheses, we used longitudinal data from individuals aged 18-55 in the 1991-2006 China Health and Nutrition Surveys. We find that physical activity declines were strongly associated with greater availability of higher educational institutions, housing infrastructure, sanitation improvements and the economic wellbeing of the community in which people function. These urbanization factors predict more than four-fifths of the decline in occupational physical activity over the 1991-2006 period for men and nearly two-thirds of the decline for women. They are also associated with 57% of the decline in total physical activity for men and 40% of the decline for women. Intervention strategies to promote physical activity in the workplace, at home, for transit and via exercise should be considered a major health priority in China.
1991年至2006年间，中国成年人的平均每周身体活动量下降了32%。本文讨论了总体身体活动水平和职业身体活动水平下降的原因，并对这种快速下降与外部社区城市化的各个维度之间的关联进行了建模。我们假设：a）身体活动水平与城市化呈负相关；b）影响工作职能和机会的城市化领域对身体活动水平的变化影响最大；c）由于家庭活动在女性的身体活动中占比更大，这些城市化领域对男性的关联比对女性更强。为了验证这些假设，我们使用了1991 - 2006年中国健康与营养调查中18 - 55岁个体的纵向数据。我们发现，身体活动的下降与高等教育机构的更多可及性、住房基础设施、卫生改善以及人们所处社区的经济福祉密切相关。在1991 - 2006年期间，这些城市化因素预测了男性职业身体活动下降的五分之四以上以及女性下降的近三分之二。它们还与男性总体身体活动下降的57%以及女性下降的40%相关。在中国，促进工作场所、家庭、出行和锻炼方面身体活动的干预策略应被视为一项主要的健康优先事项。
