Table 1 Description of study variables by physical activity change groups
|  |  | Leisure time physical activity | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Low at 2000-02 | Moderate at 2000-02 | Vigorous at 2000-02 | ||||||||
All | Low at 2007 | Moderate at 2007 | Vigorous at 2007 | Low at 2007 | Moderate at 2007 | Vigorous at 2007 | Low at 2007 | Moderate at 2007 | Vigorous at 2007 | |
N | 3947 | 370 | 336 | 158 | 294 | 915 | 371 | 164 | 400 | 935 |
Women (%) | 81.0 | 78.4 | 82.1 | 75.3 | 83.3 | 89.5 | 87.3 | 73.2 | 84.3 | 70.8 |
Age (mean) | 47.3 | 48.4 | 47.9 | 46.2 | 47.4 | 48.3 | 46.5 | 47.0 | 47.8 | 46.2 |
Occupational class (%) | ||||||||||
 Managers/professionals | 32.9 | 30.8 | 28.9 | 40.5 | 26.5 | 26.8 | 32.3 | 34.8 | 34.0 | 41.3 |
 Semi-professionals | 20.8 | 18.1 | 22.0 | 22.2 | 21.8 | 17.7 | 24.5 | 17.1 | 19.3 | 23.9 |
 Routine non-manuals | 34.4 | 34.9 | 36.9 | 29.7 | 33.0 | 43.6 | 33.7 | 37.8 | 36.3 | 24.6 |
 Manual workers | 11.8 | 16.2 | 12.2 | 7.6 | 18.7 | 11.9 | 9.4 | 10.4 | 10.5 | 10.3 |
Physically strenuous work (%) | 29.7 | 29.7 | 30.7 | 26.6 | 32.7 | 35.8 | 31.5 | 26.8 | 31.8 | 21.8 |
Mentally strenuous work (%) | 12.2 | 18.1 | 13.1 | 12.7 | 12.6 | 10.2 | 10.8 | 14.0 | 12.8 | 11.6 |
Changes in smoking (%) | ||||||||||
 Non-smokers | 75.2 | 65.9 | 68.5 | 79.7 | 63.3 | 74.6 | 80.3 | 72.6 | 74.0 | 83.6 |
 Quit smoking | 6.3 | 6.2 | 10.4 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 5.6 | 7.3 | 7.3 | 6.8 | 3.7 |
 Became smokers | 1.8 | 2.7 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 2.0 | 1.2 | 2.7 | 2.4 | 1.5 | 1.8 |
 Smokers | 16.8 | 25.1 | 19.6 | 10.8 | 26.5 | 18.6 | 9.7 | 17.7 | 17.8 | 10.8 |
Binge drinking (%) | ||||||||||
 Rarely or no binge drinkinga | 69.4 | 65.4 | 67.0 | 70.3 | 63.3 | 72.1 | 75.7 | 61.6 | 68.0 | 70.4 |
 Decreased binge drinking | 6.3 | 6.5 | 8.3 | 3.8 | 5.4 | 5.7 | 5.9 | 9.8 | 7.8 | 5.7 |
 Increased binge drinking | 7.5 | 6.5 | 8.3 | 5.7 | 9.5 | 7.0 | 6.2 | 10.4 | 6.3 | 8.1 |
 Binge drinking | 16.9 | 21.6 | 16.4 | 20.3 | 21.8 | 15.2 | 12.1 | 18.3 | 18.0 | 15.8 |
BMI (%) | ||||||||||
 Normal weightb | 44.7 | 27.0 | 33.6 | 44.9 | 32.3 | 37.2 | 57.4 | 36.6 | 49.5 | 61.1 |
 Became normal weight | 3.7 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 6.3 | 2.4 | 3.8 | 4.9 | 3.7 | 1.3 | 3.4 |
 Became overweight | 11.2 | 10.0 | 11.9 | 8.9 | 13.9 | 11.8 | 7.8 | 17.1 | 13.8 | 9.5 |
 Overweight | 40.5 | 58.4 | 50.0 | 39.9 | 51.4 | 47.2 | 29.9 | 42.7 | 35.5 | 26.0 |
LLI (%)c | ||||||||||
 No LLI | 70.9 | 58.4 | 72.6 | 72.2 | 66.3 | 64.8 | 74.1 | 73.8 | 72.0 | 80.2 |
 Recovered | 5.4 | 3.9 | 3.2 | 3.1 | 4.8 | 5.4 | 1.2 | 3.0 | 2.9 | 3.9 |
 Developed LLI | 16.1 | 20.5 | 13.1 | 14.6 | 20.4 | 18.9 | 13.2 | 17.1 | 19.8 | 11.1 |
 Persistent LLI | 9.1 | 15.7 | 10.4 | 10.1 | 10.2 | 11.5 | 7.3 | 7.9 | 5.3 | 5.8 |
Prior sickness absence (mean)d | 0.21 | 0.25 | 0.18 | 0.16 | 0.32 | 0.26 | 0.14 | 0.22 | 0.20 | 0.16 |