Gender differences in physical activity and fitness?association with self-reported health and health-relevant attitudes in a middle-aged Swiss urban population

Abstract

In Switzerland lack of exercise is common. To improve physical exercise in both women and men, campaigns should consider the motivation for physical activity with respect to gender. This study explores the patterns of self-reported sport activity, habitual physical activity and physical fitness, and associated indicators of self-reported health, health-relevant attitudes, and resources in an urban Swiss population. Using the Bern Lifestyle Panel questionnaire, 511 women and 413 men, aged 55-65 years, in the German-speaking capital of Switzerland were assessed. From the three surveys carried out from 1996 to 1998, this study used the data from the 1997 survey for a cross-sectional analysis. Women demonstrated a lower prevalence of sport activity than men but a higher prevalence of habitual physical activity. Forty-six percent of the women but 80% of the men reported a high level of fitness. In the logistic regression analysis, sport activity in the women was significantly associated with indicators of health, health-relevant attitudes such as internal and external health locus of control, and social class. Among the men, no association with health-relevant orientation could be found. The probability of habitual physical activity among the women was associated with perceived good health, health-relevant orientation and social class, while related factors among the men were indicators of health. In both women and men, perceived good health was strongly associated with self-reported physical fitness. Additionally, women's fitness was related to perceived disease-related limitation and indicators of health status. The findings indicate a gender-specific distribution of sport activity, habitual physical activity and fitness. Compared to men, physical activity in women is associated more with health-relevant orientation. Along with indicators of health, attention should be paid to both female and male perception of health and self-reported attitudes when there is an attempt to improve physical activity. Since self-reported health status, disease-related limitations, and habitual physical activity, among others, are strongly affected by sociocultural and structural influences, caution should be kept in drawing general conclusions from the findings.

Physical activity of adults aged 50 years and older in Switzerland

“…4). The apparent relevance of health perception in determining PA behavior among the older and oldest population is backed by a 55-65 year old representative population from the Swiss capital, where perceived health was strongly linked to habitual PA and self-reported fitness (Meyer et al 2004). This finding was further backed by analyses of pooled data from 16 countries of the European Union adjusted for age, gender, education, income, and nationality, inter alia (Abu-Omar et al 2004b).…”

“…Describing current PA behavior is a vital step towards promoting good exercise habits in an aging population. Empirical studies and theoretical models have shown that PA behavior patterns throughout one's life are influenced by various factors: physical and mental health status (AbuOmar et al 2004a), perceived health (Abu-Omar et al 2004b;Meyer et al 2004), health orientation (Stewart et al 1977) and mastery in a sense of self-efficacy (Booth et al 2000) as well as social status, expressed e. g. by education and income, respectively (Lamprecht & Stamm 2000). Moreover, physical environments play a large role in a person's choice to be physically active (Cunningham & Michael 2004).…”

Physical activity in the second half of life—current situation in Switzerland

“…Similar to the perception of good health, health orientation was associated with PA in the Swiss population aged 50+ (Meyer et al 2005). The apparent relevance of health perception in determining PA behavior among the older and oldest population, as seen in the Swiss population aged 50+, is supported by a 55-to 65-year-old representative population from the Swiss capital, where perceived health was strongly linked to habitual PA and self-reported fitness (Meyer et al 2004). The finding was further backed by analyses of pooled data from 16 countries of the European Union adjusted for age, gender, education, income, and nationality, inter alias (Abu-Omar et al 2004b).…”

“…Empirical studies and theoretical models have shown that PA behavior patterns throughout one's life are influenced by health-related factors such as physical and mental health status (Abu-Omar et al 2004a), perceived health (Meyer et al 2004), health orientation (Stewart et al 1977), and self-efficacy in terms of health (Booth et al 2000). The Swiss aged 50-80+ who reported that they were in poor health, overweight, or obese were more likely to be physically inactive, and less likely to be involved in vigorous sports/exercise and habitual physical activity than the elderly who reported contrasting parameter values (Meyer et al 2005).…”

Age and exercise: a theoretical and empirical analysis of the effect of age and generation on physical activity

“…This line of argument can be summarized by saying that changes in lifetime physical activity are due to deterioration in physical performance, which in turn suggests that the age effect must be much less apparent for people who maintain their health at a constant level, although a positive correlation between physical activity and health is amply documented (Erlinghagen 2003;Ruchlin and Lachs 1999;Sternfeld et al 1999;Gregg 1996;Hirvensalo et al 1998;Roberts et al 2003;Meyer et al 2004;Whaley and Ebbeck 1997).…”