The University of Sydney, Discipline of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Sydney, Australia.
Institute of Bone and Joint Research, The Kolling Institute, Northern Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
J Glob Health. 2020 Jun;10(1):010410. doi: 10.7189/jogh.10.010410.
Physical inactivity is a major risk factor for non-communicable disease and premature mortality. People who live in rural settings are usually regarded as more physically active than those living in urban areas, however, direct comparisons between these populations are scarce. We aimed to summarise the prevalence of physical inactivity and sedentary behaviour in rural settings in Australia, compared to urban counterparts.
We searched six databases (AMED, Embase, Medline; CINAHL, SPORTDiscus; and RURAL) and identified 28 observational studies that investigated the levels of physical inactivity and/or sedentary behaviour in adults aged 18 years and over in rural Australia. Random effects meta-analysis was used to generate pooled prevalence estimates.
Physical inactivity was four percentage points (95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.4 to 8) higher in rural populations compared to urban populations. There was a one percentage point (95% CI = -3 to 5) prevalence difference of physical activity in the rural populations. Rural populations reported on average 7.8 hours of sedentary time per day (95% CI = 5 to 10) and the prevalence of high levels of sedentary behaviour (≥to 8 hours per day) was 7% (95% CI = -8 to -7) greater in urban areas compared to rural areas.
People living in rural areas are just as physically inactive as people who live in urban areas. Our findings challenge the popular views that rural lifestyles result in people engaging more frequently in physical activity. Public health campaigns promoting physical activity in rural settings are just as necessary as in urban settings.
身体活动不足是非传染性疾病和过早死亡的一个主要危险因素。通常认为，居住在农村地区的人比居住在城市地区的人更活跃，但对这两个群体的直接比较却很少。我们旨在总结澳大利亚农村地区身体活动不足和久坐行为的流行率，并与城市地区进行比较。
我们检索了六个数据库（AMED、Embase、Medline；CINAHL、SPORTDiscus；和 RURAL），并确定了 28 项观察性研究，这些研究调查了澳大利亚农村地区 18 岁及以上成年人的身体活动不足和/或久坐行为水平。使用随机效应荟萃分析生成汇总流行率估计值。
与城市人口相比，农村人口身体活动不足的比例高出四个百分点（95%置信区间（CI）= 0.4 至 8）。农村人口的体力活动流行率差异为一个百分点（95%CI=-3 至 5）。农村人口平均每天报告 7.8 小时的久坐时间（95%CI=5 至 10），而城市地区的久坐行为（≥8 小时/天）的高流行率比农村地区高 7%（95%CI=-8 至-7）。
居住在农村地区的人身体活动不足的程度与居住在城市地区的人一样严重。我们的研究结果挑战了这样一种流行观点，即农村生活方式导致人们更频繁地进行身体活动。在农村地区开展促进身体活动的公共卫生宣传活动与在城市地区一样必要。
