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Physical activity of subjects aged 50–64 years involved in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2007

M Haftenberger ,
AJ Schuit ,
MJ Tormo ,
H Boeing ,
N Wareham ,
HB Bueno-de-Mesquita ,
M Kumle ,
A Hjartåker ,
MD Chirlaque  and
E Ardanaz
...Show all authors
M Haftenberger*
Affiliation:
German Institute of Human Nutrition, Department of Epidemiology, Arthur Scheunert Allee 114–116, D-14558 Potsdam-Rehbrücke, Germany.
AJ Schuit
Affiliation:
Centre of Chronic Diseases Epidemiology, National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
MJ Tormo
Affiliation:
Council for Health and Social Affairs of Murcia, Spain.
H Boeing
Affiliation:
German Institute of Human Nutrition, Department of Epidemiology, Arthur Scheunert Allee 114–116, D-14558 Potsdam-Rehbrücke, Germany.
N Wareham
Affiliation:
Department of Public Health and Primary Care, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, UK.
HB Bueno-de-Mesquita
Affiliation:
Centre of Chronic Diseases Epidemiology, National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
M Kumle
Affiliation:
Institute of Community Medicine, University of Tromsø, Norway.
A Hjartåker
Affiliation:
Section for Medical Statistics, University of Oslo, Norway.
MD Chirlaque
Affiliation:
Council for Health and Social Affairs of Murcia, Spain.
E Ardanaz
Affiliation:
Institute of Public Health, Regional Government of Navarra, Spain.
C Andren
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine, Lund University, Malmö University Hospital, Sweden.
B Lindahl
Affiliation:
Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Umeå University, Sweden.
PHM Peeters
Affiliation:
Julius Center for General Practice and Patient Oriented Research, University of Utrecht, The Netherlands.
NE Allen
Affiliation:
Cancer Research UK, Epidemiology Unit, University of Oxford, UK.
K Overvad
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology and Social Medicine, University of Aarhus, Denmark.
A Tjønneland
Affiliation:
Danish Cancer Society, Copenhagen, Denmark.
F Clavel-Chapelon
Affiliation:
INSERM, E3N–EPIC Group, Institute Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France.
J Linseisen
Affiliation:
Division of Clinical Epidemiology, German Cancer Research Centre, Heidelberg, Germany.
MM Bergmann
Affiliation:
German Institute of Human Nutrition, Department of Epidemiology, Arthur Scheunert Allee 114–116, D-14558 Potsdam-Rehbrücke, Germany.
A Trichopoulou
Affiliation:
Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, School of Medicine, University of Athens, Greece.
P Lagiou
Affiliation:
Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, School of Medicine, University of Athens, Greece.
S Salvini
Affiliation:
Molecular and Nutritional Epidemiology Unit, CSPO, Scientific Institute of Tuscany, Florence, Italy.
S Panico
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Federico II University, Naples, Italy.
E Riboli
Affiliation:
International Agency for Cancer Research, Lyon, France
P Ferrari
Affiliation:
International Agency for Cancer Research, Lyon, France
N Slimani
Affiliation:
International Agency for Cancer Research, Lyon, France
*
*Corresponding author: Email haftenb@mail.dife.de
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Abstract

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Objective:

To describe physical activity of participants in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC).

Design:

A cross-sectional analysis of baseline data of a European prospective cohort study.

Subjects:

This analysis was restricted to participants in the age group 50–64 years, which was represented in all EPIC centres. It involved 236 386 participants from 25 centres in nine countries. In each EPIC centre, physical activity was assessed by standardised and validated questions. Frequency distribution of type of professional activity and participation in non-professional activities, and age-adjusted means, medians and percentiles of time dedicated to non-professional activities are presented for men and women from each centre.

Results:

Professional activity was most frequently classified as sedentary or standing in all centres. There was a wide variation regarding participation in different types of non-professional activities and time dedicated to these activities across EPIC centres. Over 80% of all EPIC participants engaged in walking, while less than 50% of the subjects participated in sport. Total time dedicated to recreational activities was highest among the Dutch participants and lowest among men from Malmö (Sweden) and women from Naples (Italy). In all centres, total time dedicated to recreational activity in the summer was higher than in the winter. Women from southern Europe spent the most time on housekeeping.

Conclusions:

There is a considerable variation of physical activity across EPIC centres. This variation was especially evident for recreational activities in both men and women.

Keywords

EPIC studyPhysical activityActivity patternsRecreational activityHome activityEurope
Type
Research Article
Information
Public Health Nutrition , Volume 5 , Issue 6b , December 2002 , pp. 1163 - 1177
Copyright
Copyright © CABI Publishing 2002

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