Prevalence of Physical Activity among Adults in Taiwan

Method: To regularly monitor the health status of the citizens and the changing trends, the BHP collaborates with the National Health Research Institutes on designing and implementation of the National Health Interview Survey. Data were collected by face-to-face interviews and self-administered questionnaires. Physical activity related information for the past two weeks was collected and analyzed. 24,174 adults were interviewed and 20,036 questionnaires were effectively retrieved; the participation rate was 83%.

Outcomes: 1. Walking and bicycling ranked the top 2 choices for both genders' preference. 2. After grouped by BMI, overweight males were more likely to be active. Underweight populations were less active, compared with normal weight adults. 3. Prevalence of physical activity among adults increased to 53.53% in 2009, compared to 52.73% in 2006. The exercise rate was increasing on males; however, there was no statistically significant difference on females. Men were more likely than women to engage in regular activity in vigorous exercise and sports.

Discussion: There were 4.21 million adults adopted healthy walking as the first choice of physical activity. Central government should cooperate with local health departments to create a walking supportive environment. However, 47% of adults were essentially sedentary. BHP suggested that people should develop the habit of exercising regularly. According to studies, females were less likely to be active. We should find out the reasons of insufficient physical activity on females, so that we can design effective programs and build healthy policies to help the public adopt a more consistent physical activity pattern.