Time trends in physical activity in the Tromsø study: An update

• Main Authors: Bente Morseth, Laila Arnesdatter Hopstock
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Subjects: Tromsø
• Online Access: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0231581; https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0231581&type=printable

Although the health benefits of physical activity are well documented, a large proportion of the population fails to meet current guidelines for physical activity. In order to develop evidence-based public health policies, surveillance of physical activity prevalence and trends is essential. The main aim of this study was to present updated data on physical activity trends in a Norwegian general population over the last decades. Data were collected from 40 690 individuals (50% men) aged ≥20 years participating in at least one of six surveys of the population-based Tromsø Study between 1979 and 2016. Age-standardized prevalences and trends in leisure-time and occupational physical activity were obtained from three questionnaires used in the different surveys. We observed an increase in the proportion engaging in exercise in leisure-time between 1994–95 and 2001 (p