Those in the lowest income category had consistently light levels of activity, the study found.
People at higher income levels are more likely than the poor to get recommended levels of exercise—but they achieve it through bursts of activity after long stretches of sitting, according to a new study.
In the study, which appeared this week in Preventive Medicine, the “weekend warrior” phenomenon was most common among those earning at least $75,000 a year. Data from US adults who took part in the National Health Examination Survey were assessed for household income and activity level, and whether they met recommended physical activity guidelines over a 7-day period or over a 2-day period over the course of a week.
Current US guidelines for adults are 150 minutes per week of moderate activity, such as walking, or 75 minutes of rigorous activity, such as jogging or swimming laps.
Those in the highest income category were 1.6 times more likely to meet the guidelines in the 2-day period and 1.9 times more likely to meet them in the 7-day period than people earning less than $20,000 per year. Those in the lowest income group were less likely to engage in rigorous activity but also less likely to be completely sedentary than the upper income group; they engaged in light activity.
The upper income group had 4.6 more minutes per day of moderate activity but also 11.8 minutes per day of sedentary time than the lowest-income group, the study found.
Cramming physical activity into just a few days isn’t recommended, according to the US Surgeon General. Recommendations in recent years have called for periods of walking, at least 22 minutes a day. Doing so can reduce a host of ills, including depression and cancer, and can improve cognitive function, besides helping control weight.
Data released with the recommendation showed that the number of minutes walked per week rose along with education level, suggesting that those with more means tend to have more opportunity to exercise. Poverty can deter exercise if it is not safe to walk outside.
Reference
Shuval K, Qing L, Gabriel KP, Tchernis R. Income, physical activity, sedentary behavior, and the “weekend warrior” among US adults [published online August 10, 2017]. Prevent Med. 2017; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2017.07.033
Exclusive Telemedicine Use Linked to Less Favorable Glycemic Outcomes for T2D Endocrinology Care
December 6th 2023Adults with type 2 diabetes (T2D) undergoing endocrinology care are more likely to experience less favorable hemoglobin A1c improvements if they only use telemedicine compared with patients using in-person care or a mix of both.
Read More
How Can Employers Leverage the DPP to Improve Diabetes Rates?
February 15th 2022On this episode of Managed Care Cast, Jill Hutt, vice president of member services at the Greater Philadelphia Business Coalition on Health, explains the Coalition’s efforts to reduce diabetes rates through the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP).
Listen
Study Reveals Factors That Further Increase Colorectal Cancer Risk for Adults With T2D
November 14th 2023The strongest associations between diabetes and colorectal cancer risk were observed in participants with a recent diabetes diagnosis and those who had not undergone recent colonoscopy, underscoring the significance of cancer screening.
Read More
Balancing Care Access and Fragmentation for Better Outcomes in Veterans With Diabetes
April 22nd 2021The authors of a study in the April 2021 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® discuss the possible reasons behind the link between care fragmentation and hospitalizations in veterans with diabetes, as well as potential opportunities to address disjointed care in the context of the widespread telehealth uptake seen during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Listen