A new electronic study conducted in part by a professor at the College of Nursing and Health Innovation this semester shows Mexican-Americans are the top group at meeting national physical activity goals.
Barbara Ainsworth, a professor of exercise and wellness, said her research shows 27 percent of Mexican-Americans, 20 percent of whites and 15 percent of blacks reached the goal.
Ainsworth’s said her findings contradict research based on self-reports, which show whites reach the national goal more than any other group.
She said her work with Sandra Ham, a graduate student at the University of Chicago, shows that government officials need to improve their method of measuring physical activity.
“Government officials must improve their method of measuring physical activity using objective methods,” Ainsworth said in a press release.
Ainsworth and Ham used accelerometry, which is a method of measuring physical activity by placing an electronic device around a participant’s waist, to gauge the number of people meeting the national physical activity goal of getting at least 30 minutes of moderate activity five days a week or vigorous activity for 20 minutes at least three times a week.
“Historically physical activity surveys were just occupational, but this changed in the 70’s with the introduction of computers, where people thought manual labor at work would eventually become non-existent,” Ainsworth said in a press release. “So activity surveys shifted to leisure time measure. This shows we need to go back and look at occupational as well.”
Erika Vega, a freshman nursing student, said she believes Ainsworth’s research will show people how busy Mexican culture is.
“Our culture is always moving,” she said. “We start our day at 7 a.m. and end at 11 p.m. But it’s fun too, we are always together and play games.”
Ainsworth said the electronic study also found that people who have a lesser education get more exercise than people with higher-levels of education, which also opposes previous claims that people with a higher education get the most exercise.
“This is a brand new finding,” Ainsworth said. “And there needs to be a change in where the government places money for physical activity.”
Ainsworth said there are a lot of programs to help boost exercise for people of low-income, but those programs need to be moved to people who have a higher education and don’t get enough exercise because of being at the office.
Nursing freshman Jenny Gladstone said she thinks the number of people meeting national physical activity standards is not nearly high enough. She said this needs to change if the nation wants to reverse obesity and improve national health overall.
“Many people don’t understand the benefits of exercise, other than improving self image,” Gladstone said.
Contact the reporter at jswem@asu.edu
