Institute of Medical Epidemiology, Biometry and Informatics, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Magdeburger Str. 8, 06112, Halle (Saale), Germany.
BMC Public Health. 2024 Jun 13;24(1):1584. doi: 10.1186/s12889-024-19055-y.
Since physical activity is an important determinant of physical and mental health, lower levels of physical activity among mothers reported in previous research are concerning. The aim of this study was to examine whether physical activity levels differ among mothers depending on the age of the youngest child.
Cross-sectional data from the German National Cohort study, comprising 3959 mothers aged 22-72 years with offspring aged 0-54 years (grouped into 0-5, 6-11, 12-17, 18-29 and > 30 years) was used. The Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ) was used to assess physical activity among mothers in leisure time, transport and (occupational and non-occupational) work settings, quantified as MET-minutes per week. Means (with 95% confidence interval) of mothers' weekly MET-minutes were visualized in graphs, stratified by mothers' and the youngest child's age. Linear regression analyses assessed the association between the child's age and self-reported time and intensity of mothers' physical activity within each activity domain and for the total physical activity.
Adjusted results suggested that the MET-minutes in work settings were lower among mothers with younger children. This association was clearest in mothers whose youngest child was under 12 years old, among whom lower self-reported physical activity at work compared to mothers with children at age 30 and older was found. No association was observed between the age of the youngest child and mothers' MET-minutes in leisure nor in transport settings. The self-reported physical activity of mothers whose youngest child was in the same child age group was found to be lower with increased maternal age. As expected, the work related activity dominated the self-reported physical activity.
The results show differences in mothers' self-reported physical activity by the age of the youngest child. The strongest difference was related to physical activity in work settings, indicating the need for supportive actions.
由于身体活动是身心健康的重要决定因素，之前的研究报告显示母亲身体活动水平较低令人担忧。本研究旨在探讨母亲的身体活动水平是否因最小孩子的年龄而异。
本研究使用了德国国家队列研究的横断面数据，该研究包含 3959 名年龄在 22-72 岁之间、有 0-54 岁子女（分为 0-5、6-11、12-17、18-29 和>30 岁）的母亲。使用全球体力活动问卷（GPAQ）评估母亲在闲暇时间、交通（职业和非职业）工作场所的身体活动情况，以每周代谢当量分钟（MET-minutes）量化。根据母亲和最小孩子的年龄，以图表形式展示母亲每周 MET-minutes 的平均值（95%置信区间）。线性回归分析评估了孩子年龄与母亲在每个活动领域和总身体活动中自我报告的时间和强度之间的关系。
调整后的结果表明，有年幼子女的母亲在工作场所的 MET-minutes 较低。这种关联在最小孩子年龄在 12 岁以下的母亲中最为明显，与最小孩子年龄在 30 岁及以上的母亲相比，她们在工作中自我报告的身体活动较少。在闲暇时间和交通场所，最小孩子的年龄与母亲的 MET-minutes 之间没有关联。最小孩子年龄与自我报告的身体活动之间的关联在母亲最小孩子年龄在同一儿童年龄组中时，随着母亲年龄的增加而降低。正如预期的那样，与工作相关的活动主导了自我报告的身体活动。
结果显示母亲自我报告的身体活动水平因最小孩子的年龄而异。最大的差异与工作场所的身体活动有关，表明需要采取支持性行动。
