Assessment on physical activity among middle and old aged women in southern rural areas of Shaanxi province

Objective To assess the physical activity status among middle and old aged women in rural areas of southern Shaanxi province and to provide basic information for health promotion.Methods Totally 1 652 rural women aged 40-60 years were selected with multistage stratified random sampling and investigated on their physical activity with a questionnaire survey.Results The proportions of the women taking light,moderate,and heavy physical activity were 58.4%,29.8%,and 11.8%.There were significant differences in the means of the thermos effect and the total energy consumption among different physical activity levels(P < 0.01).The estimated energy requirement of light physical activity level was greater than the total energy consumption.The means of household,occupational,and static activity time showed significant differences among the women with different physical activity levels(P < 0.01).The means of leisure and social activity time were 23.2-24.6 and 44.5-46.1 minutes.Conclusion The thermos effect of household activity was the main component of energy consumption.The thermos effect of leisure activity was lower than that of other activities and the prolonged static activity was a potential risk factor for overweight.