Comparisons of Physical Activity and Walking Between Korean Immigrant and White Women in King County, WA

J Immigr Minor Health. 2016 Dec;18(6):1541-1546. doi: 10.1007/s10903-015-0290-1.

Abstract

Immigrant and minority women are less physically active than White women particularly during leisure time. However, prior research demonstrates that reported household physical activity (PA) and non-leisure time walking/biking were higher among the former. Using accelerometers, GPS, and travel logs, transport-related, home-based, and leisure time PA were measured objectively for 7 days from a convenience sample of 60 first-generation Korean immigrant women and 69 matched White women from the Travel Assessment and Community Project in King County, Washington. Time spent in total PA, walking, and home-based PA was higher among Whites than Korean immigrants regardless of PA type or location. 58 % of the White women but only 20 % of the Korean women met CDC's PA recommendations. Socio-economic status, psychosocial factors, and participants' neighborhood built environmental factors failed to account for the observed PA differences between these groups.

Keywords: Accelerometer; GPS; Korean immigrant women; Objective measures; Physical activity; Walking; White women.

MeSH terms

  • Accelerometry
  • Adult
  • Asian / statistics & numerical data*
  • Emigrants and Immigrants / statistics & numerical data*
  • Environment
  • Exercise*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Leisure Activities
  • Middle Aged
  • Republic of Korea / ethnology
  • Residence Characteristics
  • Socioeconomic Factors
  • Walking
  • Washington / epidemiology
  • White People / statistics & numerical data*