Differences in leisure-time physical activity levels between blacks and whites in population-based samples: the Minnesota Heart Survey

Abstract

Energy expenditure in leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) was measured using the Minnesota LTPA Questionnaire in 35- to 74-year-old black and white residents of Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota. Estimates of the geometric mean LTPA energy expenditure were 129 and 204 kcal per day for black and white men (p less than .05) and 91 and 123 kcal per day for black and white women (p less than .05). The percentage of individuals expending 2000 kcal or more per week in LTPA was significantly lower in black men than white men (25 vs. 35%; p = .01) but was not different in black versus white women (18 vs. 17%). Although black men and women reported greater occupational physical activity than their white counterparts, LTPA and job activity were unrelated in all race and sex groups. In both races, LTPA energy expenditure declined with age. LTPA increased with level of formal education, and the largest LTPA difference between blacks and whites was observed in those who had a high-school diploma or less. Blacks had lower participation rates than whites in most of the individually assessed physical activities. Additional research is needed on the determinants and promoters of LTPA in population subgroups.