Physical activity among South Asian women: a systematic, mixed-methods review

Babakus, Whitney S; Thompson, Janice L

doi:10.1186/1479-5868-9-150

International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity

Table 1 Summary of included quantitative studies

From: Physical activity among South Asian women: a systematic, mixed-methods review

+	Location of fieldwork	Participants & sample recruitment	Design	Physical activity measures	Translation	Response rate	Main findings
Dogra et al., 2010	Canada	N = 347,229	Cross-sectional	Self-report: 3 month recall of PA (metabolic equivalent calculation based on Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute cut-offs	NA**	NA	SA less likely than Whites to engage in walking, endurance, recreation, and sport activities (SA: walking = 56.7%, endurance = 29.7%, recreation = 38.3%, sports = 24.3%; Whites: walking = 68.3%, endurance = 34.6%, recreation = 60.0%, sports = 28.8%). SA report more inactivity: 18.7%, Whites = 10.5%
		N(male White) = 10729
		N(female White) = 114,965
		N(male SA*) = 1,708
		N(female SA) = 1,576
Health Education Authority, 2000	UK	N = 4,444	Cross-sectional	Self-report: survey piloted and revised for clarity	Translated into 7 languages	72%	% reporting taking ‘regular exercise:
		N(Indian) = 1,111					Indian = 71%
		N(Pakistani) = 1,111					Pakistani = 63%
		N(Bangladeshi = 1,111					Bangladeshi = 65%
		N(Afro-Caribbean) = 1,111					% females reporting ‘very active’:
		National Survey of Ethnic Minorities					Indian = 17%
							Pakistani = 18%
							Bangladeshi = 17%
Hine et al., 1995	UK	N = 547 (women only)	Cross-sectional	Self-report	Translated into 7 languages	71%	% currently doing exercise to keep healthy:
		N(Pakistani) = 79					Pakistani: 1%, Indian: 6%, Bangladeshi: 12.5%
		N(Indian) = 52
		N(Bangladeshi) = 21
		Identified from Family Health Services Authority and Electoral Register
Jonnalagadda & Diwan, 2002	US	N = 237 Asian Indian men and women	Cross-sectional	Self-report: survey based on Kriska et al, 1997	NA	65%	% reporting engaging in 1 or more of the 3 activities from PA index:
		Identified from 10 community organizations					South Indian = 70%
							North Indian = 56%
							West Indian = 65%
Kolt et al., 2007	New Zealand	N = 112	Cross-sectional	Objective measurement: New Lifestyles NL2000 pedometer	NA	NA	48% of total sample classified at sedentary (<5000 steps/day)
		N(Asian Indian men) = 50 N(Asian Indian women) = 62					33% classified as active (>10,000 steps/day)
		Identified from Auckland-based Asian Indian community organizations					33% classified as active (>10,000 steps/day)
Lean et al., 2001	UK	N = 259	Cross-sectional	Self-report	NA	76%	18% of Migrant SA performed sport and exercise
		N(Scotland general population) = 50					30% of British-born SA performed sport and exercise
		N(immigrant SA ) = 63
		N(UK-born SA ) = 56
		N(immigrant Italians ) = 39
		N(UK-born Italians ) = 51
Lip et al., 1996	UK	N = 232 (women only)	Cross-sectional	Self-report of regular exercise	Translated into 3 languages	NA	Lower proportion of exercisers among South Asians (X2 = 22.34, df = 2, p < 0.001)
		N(White ) = 84
		N(SA) = 72
		N(Afro-Caribbean ) = 76
		Recruited from City Hospital, Birmingham
Mahajan & Bermingham, 2004	Australia/India	N = 250	Crosssectional	Self-report: Based on the National Heart Foundation Risk Factor Survey	NA	63%	Total exercise hours/week: Men in Australia:17.3+/-25.5
		N(SA Indians in Australia ) = 125					Men in India: 18.9+/-29.4 Women in Australia: 17.1+/-20.6
		N(familial relatives in India ) = 125					Women in India: 33.5+/-36.9 (P < 0.001 referring to country of residence stratified by gender)
		Recruited from Indian community centres in Sydney and referred familial relatives in India
McKeigue et al., 1992	UK	N = 3,399	Cross-sectional	Self-report	Completed questionnaire checked by bilingual fieldworker	NA	Age-adjusted mean leisure time:
		N(European men) = 1,506					SA: 3.0 MJ/week
		N(SA men) = 1,360					European: 4.2 MJ/week P < 0.001
		N(European women) = 245
		N(SA women) = 288
		Recruited from general practitioner’slists and industrial workforces in West London
Misra et al., 2005	US	N = 56 SA Indian immigrants	Cross-sectional	Self-report: Minnesota LTPA*** questionnaire	NA	80%	Total activity mean in min/week
		N = 31 men					Men: 124.5+/-107.8
		N = 25 women					Women: 50.2+/-62.3
		Recruited via general practitioner’s offices, community centres and media releases					Women: 50.2+/-62.3
Misra, 2004	US	N = 261 Gujarati Asian Indian immigrants	Cross-sectional	Self-report: revised Health Promotion Lifestyle Profile II	NA		53.3% Follow exercise regime
		N(men ) = 180					56.4.% of men
		N(women ) = 81					52.5% of women
		N(women ) = 81					Significant difference between men and women (X2 = 14.1, p = 0.001)
Mohanty et al., 2005	US	N = (White) 87,846	Cross-sectional	Self-report: any vigorous activity 10-20 min at least once per week	NA	80.4% in1997, 73.9% in 1998, 69.6% in 1999, 72.1% in 2000	% reporting never being active or active less than once/week:
		N(SA Indian) = 555					White = 59.3%
		National Health Interview Survey years 1997-2000					Asian Indian = 67% (p = .004)
O’Laughlin et al., 2007	Canada	N = 2033 (42.2% male)	Cross-sectional	Self-report: ≥20 min. LTPA at least twice/week for 4 months	NA	NA	% inactive (95%Confidence Interval)
		N(French Canadian) = 575					French Canadian = 71.5% (67.6-75.1)
		N(Portuguese) = 294					Portuguese = 80.5%(75.5-84.9)
		N(Italian) = 122					Italian = 78.3%(69.9-85.3)
		N(Eastern European) = 51					Eastern European = 58%(43.2-71.8)
		N(SA) = 42					SA = 76.2%(60.6-88.0)
		Data available from adult parents of children participating in an intervention in Montreal					SA = 76.2%(60.6-88.0)
Palaniappan et al., 2002	US	N = 210	Cross-sectional	Self-report	NA	71.40%	Years of regular exercise Caucasian: 6.2+/-4.0
		N(Caucasian 0 = 67					African American: 4.0+/-4.2 SA Indian: 4.2+/-4.3 P = 0.0013
		N(African American ) = 69
		N(SA Indian ) = 70
Patel et al., 2006	UK/India	N = 537 total	Cross-sectional	Objective Measurement: Caltrac accelerometers	Bilingual fieldworkers conducted measurements	67% in Sandwell, 65% in Navsari	Measured physical activity in Kcal/day (95% CI): Men in India:1820(1630-2000)
		N(SA Indian men in UK ) = 119					Men in UK: 2350(2200-2490)
		N(SA Indian men in India) = 139					Women in India: 1680(1540-1810) Women in UK: 1750(1640-1870)
		N(SA Indian women in UK) = 123
		N(SA Indian women in India) = 155
		Recruited from community directories and local primary care registries in UK, from electoral roll from India
Pomerleau et al., 1999	UK	N = 839 (women only)	Cross-sectional	Self-report	Bilingual fieldworkerscollected data and translated during interview	NA	SA women walked least for transport compared to European and Afro-Caribbean: 22% vs 44% and 40%, respectively. 1% of SA women participated in sport and none cycled
		N(European ) = 246
		N(SA) = 291
		N(Afro-Caribbean ) = 303
		Data from 2 large cross-sectional studies, Southall and Brent surveys
Riste et al., 2001	UK	N = 919	Crosssectional	Self-report: validated questionnaire(Was hburn et al, 1990), PA reported over the past week	Punjabi and Urdu interviewers available	65%	% physically active defined as 3X20min/week (95% CI):
		N(European ) = 471					Pakistani men = 6.8%(0-13)
		N(Pakistani ) = 132					Pakistani women = 5.2%(0-11)
		N(Afro-Caribbean ) = 316					European men = 37.8%(23-53)
		Sampled from registers from local health centres					European women = 29.4%(13-46)
Rudat, 1994	UK	N = 2,619	Crosssectional	Self-report		Indian = 77%, Pakistani = 80%, Bangladeshi = 9 1% successful as% of screened eligible respondents	% reporting any activity: Indian = 46%, Pakistani = 41%, Bangladeshi = 37%
		N(SA Indian ) = 1017
		N(Pakistani ) = 935
		N(Bangladeshi ) = 667
		Sample available from 1981 census
Sinnapah et al., 2009	Guadeloupe	N = 122	Crosssectional	Self-report: 24-hour recall	NA	93%	Energy expenditure in Kcal +/-SD: SA Indian men: 2615+/-417
		N(general population men) = 25					SA women: 2264+/-465
		N(SA Indian men) = 27					Controls men: 2921+/-608
		N(general population women) = 32					Controls women: 2481+/-627
		N(SA women) = 30
		Sampled from those workers who came in to attend annual medical check-up
Williams et al., 2010	UK	N = 15,413	Observational longitudinal	Self-report: 4 week recall	Questions translated into 5 languages	69-76%	% reporting no weekly physical activity(unadjusted):
		N(White) = 13,293					White = 28.1%
		N(SA Indian) = 1,244					Indian = 37.1%
		N(Pakistani/Banglade shi ) = 876					Pakistani/Bangladeshi = 56.7% (p < 0.001)
		Data available from Health Survey for England years 1999 and 2004					Pakistani/Bangladeshi = 56.7% (p < 0.001)
Williams et al., 2010a	UK	N = 1,948	Crosssectional	Self-report: Based on IPAQ****	Questionnair e available in English and Punjabi	83%	% reporting more than 3 hours sedentary/day:
		N(White) = 818					SA = 45.6%
		N(SA) = 1130					White = 47.5%
		Recruited from London Life Sciences Prospective Population(LOLIPOP) study					% reporting some physical activity:SA = 73.2%
							White = 79.4%
Williams et al., 1994	UK	N = 173 SA	Crosssectional	Self-report	Bilingual interviewer and questionnaire available in 4 languages	80.5%	% reporting ever taking vigorous exercise: SA Males = 46%, Male general population = 59% SA females = 38%, Female general population = 44% SA less likely to report ever taking vigorous exercise, difference statistically significant in men (p < 0.05)
		N by sex unspecified
		Sampled from electoral and valuation rolls in Glasgow
Yates et al., 2010	UK	N = 5,474	Crosssectional	Self-report: Short version of last seven-day self administered format of IPAQ	English only	92% of white European, 69% of SA	% in activity level category:
		N(White men) = 2033					White Men: Low = 22%, Moderate = 28%, High = 50%
		N(SA men) = 604					SA Men: Low = 37%, Moderate = 25%, High = 38%
		N(White women) = 2277					White Women: Low = 27%, Moderate = 33%, High = 32%
		N(SA women) = 560					SA Women: Low = 40%, Moderate = 28%, High = 32% (all significant at p < 0.01)
		European -baseline data from ADDITION-Leicester study
Yates et al., 2012	UK	N = 505	Crosssectional	Self-report: Short version of last seven-day self administered format of IPAQ	English only	NA	Total hours sitting time (hours/day):
		N(White European Men) = 220					Men = 6.0(4.0-8.8)
		N(White European Women) = 188					Women = 5.0(4.0-7.0)
		N(South Asian Men) = 52					p for difference between genders <0.01
		N(South Asian Women) = 45					Total MVPA + (METhours/week:
		From subsample of the ADDITIONLeicester study from 2004-2007					Men = 46(17-108)
							Women = 34(17-106)
							p for difference between genders <0.01
Ye et al., 2009	US	N = 77,267	Cross-sectional	Self-report	NA	NA	% reporting physical inactivity(unadjusted):
		N(White) = 74,424					White = 37.2%, Asian
		N(SA Indian) = 534					Indian = 41.8%, Other
		N(Other Asian) = 1,117					Asian = 41.0% (X2 = 16.27, p = 0.04)
		Aggregated data from the National Health Interview Survey 2003 to 2005					Asian = 41.0% (X2 = 16.27, p = 0.04)

*South Asian, **Information not available in article, *** Leisure time physical activity, ****International Physical Activity Questionnaire, +Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity.

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ISSN: 1479-5868

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