Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Jul 24;14(1):99.
doi: 10.1186/s12966-017-0554-3.

Systematic mapping review of the factors influencing physical activity and sedentary behaviour in ethnic minority groups in Europe: a DEDIPAC study

Lars Jørun Langøien  1 , Laura Terragni  2 , Gro Rugseth  1 , Mary Nicolaou  3 , Michelle Holdsworth  4 , Karien Stronks  3 , Nanna Lien  5 , Gun Roos  6 ; DEDIPAC consortium
Affiliations

Systematic mapping review of the factors influencing physical activity and sedentary behaviour in ethnic minority groups in Europe: a DEDIPAC study

Lars Jørun Langøien et al. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. .

Abstract

Background: Physical activity and sedentary behaviour are associated with health and wellbeing. Studies indicate that ethnic minority groups are both less active and more sedentary than the majority population and that factors influencing these behaviours may differ. Mapping the factors influencing physical activity and sedentary behaviour among ethnic minority groups living in Europe can help to identify determinants of physical activity and sedentary behaviour, research gaps and guide future research.

Methods: A systematic mapping review was conducted to map the factors associated with physical activity and sedentary behaviour among ethnic minority groups living in Europe (protocol PROSPERO ID = CRD42014014575). Six databases were searched for quantitative and qualitative research published between 1999 and 2014. In synthesizing the findings, all factors were sorted and structured into clusters following a data driven approach and concept mapping.

Results: Sixty-three articles were identified out of 7794 returned by the systematic search. These included 41 quantitative and 22 qualitative studies. Of these 58 focused on physical activity, 5 on both physical activity and sedentary behaviour and none focused on sedentary behaviour. The factors associated with physical activity and sedentary behaviour were grouped into eight clusters. Social & cultural environment (n = 55) and Psychosocial (39) were the clusters containing most factors, followed by Physical environment & accessibility (33), Migration context (15), Institutional environment (14), Social & material resources (12), Health and health communication (12), Political environment (3). An important finding was that cultural and religious issues, in particular those related to gender issues, were recurring factors across the clusters.

Conclusion: Physical activity and sedentary behaviour among ethnic minority groups living in Europe are influenced by a wide variety of factors, especially informed by qualitative studies. More comparative studies are needed as well as inclusion of a wider spectrum of the diverse ethnic minority groups resettled in different European countries. Few studies have investigated factors influencing sedentary behaviour. It is important in the future to address specific factors influencing physical activity and sedentary behaviour among different ethnic minority groups in order to plan and implement effective interventions.

Keywords: Ethnic minority groups; Europe; Factors; Immigrants; Migrants; Physical activity; Sedentary behaviour.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Not applicable.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
PRISMA flow chart: Selection process for articles
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Crepso CJ, Smit E, Andersen RE, Carter-Pokras O, Ainsworth BE. Race/ethnicity, social class and their relation to physical inactivity during leisure time: results from the third National Health and nutrition examination survey, 1988–1994. Am J Prev Med. 2000;18(1):46–53. doi: 10.1016/S0749-3797(99)00105-1. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Glover-Larsen P, Mcmurray RG, Popkin BM. Adolescent physical activity and inactivity vary by ethnicity: the national longitudinal study of adolescent health. J Pediatr. 1999;135(3):301–306. doi: 10.1016/S0022-3476(99)70124-1. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Whitt-Glover MC, Taylor WC, Floyd MF, Yore MM, Yancey AK, Matthews CE. Disparities in physical activity and sedentary behaviors among US children and adolescents: prevalence, correlates, and intervention implications. J Public Health Policy. 2009;30(Suppl 1):S309–S334. doi: 10.1057/jphp.2008.46. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Gualdi-Russo E, Zaccagni L, Manzon V, Masotti S, Rinaldo N, Khyatti M. Obesity and physical activity in children of immigrants. Eur J Pub Health. 2014;24(Suppl. 1):40–46. doi: 10.1093/eurpub/cku111. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Babakus W, Thompson J. Physical activity among south Asian women: a systematic, mixed-methods review. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2012;9(1):150. doi: 10.1186/1479-5868-9-150. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types