Sociodemographic differences in walking for leisure and for commuting in Brazilian workers

• Main Authors: Rodrigo de Rosso Krug, Giovâni Firpo Del Duca, Kelly Samara da Silva, Cecília Bertuol, Markus Vinicius Nahas, Elusa Santina Antunes de Oliveira, Mauro Virgilio Gomes de Barros
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade Estadual Paulista 2016-06-01
• Series: Motriz: Revista de Educacao Fisica
• Subjects: leisure activities; occupational health; social class; cross-sectional studies
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1980-65742016000200061&lng=en&tlng=en

Abstract Walking is a great health promotion strategy due to its beneficial effects. Objetive: To identify the prevalence of walking for leisure and for commuting to work and its association with sociodemographic factors among 47,477 Brazilian workers. Walking and sociodemographic factors were obtained from a self-reported questionnaire. Poisson regression was used. Among men, walking for leisure was more frequent in those who were older, live with a partner, had a higher level of education and income, and worked in the Southeastern region of Brazil. When commuting, it was more prevalent among single men, who had a lower level of education and income and worked in the Southern region of this country. Among women, walking for leisure was more common in those who lived with a partner, had no children, and worked in the Southern region. There was an association between the outcome and age, education and family income. Regarding commuting, it was more prevalent among older individuals, without a partner, with a lower level of education and income, and working in the Southern region. Walking was associated with sociodemographic characteristics, with differences between sexes.