THURSDAY, Dec. 8 (HealthDay News) -- The prevalence of U.S. adults reporting no leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) fell between 1989 and 2002, but has held steady at 25 percent since then; it is possible that subgroups, such as adults with arthritis, have hindered further reduction, according to research published in the Dec. 9 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report.
Jennifer M. Hootman, Ph.D., of the CDC in Atlanta, and colleagues analyzed Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data from 2009 to assess the state-specific prevalence of no LTPA among adults with arthritis.
Nationwide, the researchers found that the prevalence of no LTPA in adults with arthritis was significantly higher than in adults without arthritis, and that, in 23 states, there was an age-standardized prevalence of no LTPA in adults with arthritis of 30 percent or greater. Adults with arthritis made up a third or more of adults reporting no LTPA in all states.
"To reduce the prevalence of no LTPA among all adults, physical activity promotion initiatives should include interventions such as targeted health communication campaigns and community-based group exercise programs proven safe and effective for adults with arthritis," the authors write.
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