Physical activity in Latinas in San Diego County: Past activity and latent trajectories

Introduction: Leisure-time physical inactivity remains high among Latinas placing them at risk for obesity and chronic diseases. Past research is limited to correlational studies, which emphasize individual correlates of physical activity (PA) among Latinas with little focus on social-ecological factors. Among Latinas, there is a need to examine longitudinal effects that relate to leisure-time PA (LTPA).

Method: Latinas (N=143) were recruited from a church setting in San Diego County. Women completed a self-administered survey that assessed demographics, psychosocial factors, neighborhood cohesion and LTPA at three time points.

Results: The average age of the participants was 43±10 years. Most women were married Spanish-speakers, and Mexico-born. From baseline to 6-months, the prevalence of Latinas engaging in LTPA increased from 61% to 73%, but mean total of weekly LTPA decreased by 8 minutes. An autoregressive latent trajectory model revealed an autoregressive effect of LTPA at baseline on LTPA at 3- and 6-months, and on barriers at baseline and 3-months. Neighborhood cohesion at baseline had an autoregressive effect on cohesion at 3- and 6-months, and cohesion at 3-months had a positive effect on LTPA at 3- and 6-months. Latinas with higher self-efficacy were significantly more likely to have a lower initial level of barriers to PA.

Discussion: Results supported a model of LTPA over time that simultaneously captures the effect of past activity and latent trajectories across individuals. This study provides evidence that social-ecological factors may be predictive of LTPA and that PA may be predictive of psychosocial factors such as barriers to PA.