Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #115408

Alberto Juan Caban, BSc, MPH¹, David James Lee, PhD¹, Lora E. Fleming, MD PhD, MPH, MSc¹, William LeBlanc, Phd¹, Orlando Gomez-Marin, PhD, MSc², and Terry Pitman¹. (1) Epidemiology & Public Health, University of Miami School of Medicine, 1801 NW 9th Avenue, Highland Professional Building, Suite 200, Miami, FL 33136, 305-243-6980, acaban@med.miami.edu, (2) Epidemiology & Public Health and Pediatrics, University of Miami School of Medicine, Highland Professional Building, 1801 NW 9th Ave, Miami, FL 33136

Objectives: Determine the proportion of workers meeting Healthy People 2010 guidelines for recommended levels of leisure time physical activity in major US occupational groups.

Methods: The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) is a cross-sectional multistage probability household survey of the US civilian non-institutionalized population. Aggregated data from NHIS survey years 1997-2003 included over 210,000 US workers, age > 18 years. Recommended levels of leisure-time physical activity were based on the US Healthy People 2010 guidelines (i.e., engaging in light-moderate activity > 30 minutes > 5 times per week, or vigorous activity > 20 minutes > 3 times per week).

Results: The five occupational groups with the highest proportion of workers meeting the activity guideline were: Police and firefighters; Health diagnosing professionals; Natural mathematics/ computer scientists; Teachers, librarians, and counselors; and writers, artists, entertainers, athletes (range of proportions: 26.5-30.5%). The five occupational groups with the lowest proportion of workers meeting the guideline were: Machine operators / tenderers, except precision; Cleaning and building services; Farm operators and managers; Fabricators, assemblers, inspectors, samplers; and forestry / fishing occupations (range: 11.9-14.6%).

Conclusions: Leisure time physical activity levels are sub-optimal among all major US worker groups and show substantial variability across occupations. Development of tailored interventions targeting workers employed in sedentary occupations with very low rates of leisure-time physical activity is paramount.

Learning Objectives:

• List the five occupations with the highest proportion of workers meeting the US Healthy People 2010 guidelines.
• List the five occupations with the proportion of workers meeting the US Healthy People 2010 guidelines.
• Discuss the need for additional research in worker groups identified as having the low levels of leisure-time physical activity
• Describe the design of the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS)
• Identify the strengths and weaknesses of the NHIS for occupational health research

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.