Socioeconomic status and change in sports activity among middle-aged and older men and women: evidence from the German Ageing Survey

Abstract

Background Sports activity (SA) behavior is unequally distributed across socioeconomic status (SES) groups. However, little is known about the impact of SES on change in SA over time. Methods Based on data from the German Ageing Survey, we examined the role of objective (education, occupational prestige, household equivalent income, composite SES-index) and subjective (self-rated standard of living) SES indicators on negative and positive changes in SA during a follow-up of 6 years among adults aged 40+ years using logistic regression analysis. Results Among active individuals at baseline, 32.1% of males and 24.8% of females experienced a negative change in SA. Among inactive individuals, 25.8 and 29.9% experienced a positive change. In the multivariate analysis, males and females with low SES were about twice as likely to experience a negative change and half as likely to experience a positive change. These patterns were observed regardless which SES indicator was examined. Conclusions This study provides comprehensive evidence for socioeconomic inequalities in negative and positive changes in SA behavior among middle-aged and older adults in Germany. To reduce socioeconomic inequalities, future SA interventions should address the mechanisms leading to differential probabilities of change in SA behavior by SES.

Consideration of sex/gender in publications of quantitative health-related research: Development and application of an assessment matrix

“…“ Since previous studies indicate that the effect of SES on change in PA may differ by gender (…) we conducted all analyses for men and women separately .” ( 57 ) (p. 3).…”

Individual socioeconomic and neighborhood factors predict changes in sports activity during the transition to retirement

“…SA was assessed using a single item ‘How often do you do sports, such as hiking, soccer, gymnastics, or swimming?’, and responses ranged from daily [ 1 ] to never [ 6 ] [ 33 ]. In line with previous studies [ 34 , 35 ], a dichotomized variable was created to differentiate between individuals who were active (response options ‘daily’, ‘several times a week’ and ‘once a week’) or inactive (response options ‘between 1 to 3 times a month’, ‘less often’ and ‘never’). Based on the SA levels at the follow-up assessment, four patterns of SA change were identified: (i) People who were physically inactive at baseline and follow-up assessment (remained inactive), (ii) persons who changed their SA from active at baseline to inactive at follow-up assessment (became inactive), (iii) persons who were active at baseline and follow-up assessment (remained active), (iv) persons who changed their SA from inactive at baseline to active at follow-up assessment (become active).…”

“…Gender, time since retirement, and the number of physical diseases from a list of 12 (cardiovascular disease, peripheral vascular disease, back pain, asthma and other respiratory diseases, gut diseases, malignant neoplasms, diabetes, liver or kidney diseases, incontinence, sleep disturbances, visual problems, hearing loss) at follow-up were entered as potential confounders. Previous studies show that changes in PA during the retirement transition differ between men and women [ 15 , 19 , 29 , 34 ], and that health restrictions influence participation in PA [ 41 ].…”

‘What sport do you prefer to do?’ Improving knowledge of adolescents’ preferred sports within the sport participation decline framework

“…Several studies have shown a global decrease in physical activity and sport participation among children and adolescents in western countries. [8][9][10][11][12][47][48][49] In France, national 17 studies show a stability in adolescents' sport participation rates. Locally, a regional study shows a 15-points decline between 2001 and 2015.…”