Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour of a Group of Adults from Rural Nova Scotia

Abstract

The influence of rural environments on physical activity and sedentary behaviours are not well known. This was a cross-sectional pilot study of 58 participants aged 18-64 years who lived in Lunenburg County, NS. 7-day accelerometer data was measured to determine prevalence of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and sedentary behaviour along with their relationship with each other, sex, age and household income. Within the sample, 21% met the recommended 150 minutes of MVPA per week in bouts of >10 minutes. An average of 56% of awake time was spent in sedentary behaviour. There was a significant difference in total MVPA based on household income (p=0.009) but no other differences were found. While this small sample does not allow for generalizability to the larger rural population, it does provide insight into the current state of these health-related behaviours, providing a springboard into future research on adult rural physical activity and sedentary behaviours.