Objectively Measures Sedentary Time Among Mexican Adults: Prevalence and Sociodemographic Correlates

Background: Sedentary behavior has been identified as a distinct risk factor for chronic diseases. In spite of high obesity and chronic disease rates in Mexico, few studies have reported the prevalence and correlates of MVPA among Mexicans, while population-level sedentary time (ST) and its correlates remain unknown.

Objectives: Quantify total, weekday and weekend ST for adults from Cuernavaca, Mexico, using objective measures; and identify the sociodemographic correlates of ST for adults from Cuernavaca, Mexico.

Methods: Cross-sectional, multistage, stratified clustered study of a representative sample of 674 adults from Cuernavaca, Mexico (2011). ST was measured with Actigraph GT3X accelerometers (<=100 counts/minute). Linear regression models were run to estimate the association of sex, age, education, socioeconomic status, occupation, marital status, motor-vehicle ownership and BMI with ST, while controlling for daily-MVPA.

Results: Average ST was 7.7±0.1 hours/day; 100% spent >2 hours/day in ST, and 41.3% spent >8 hours/day in ST. No significant differences were found between weekday-ST and weekend-ST. Increasing age (+1.9±0.4 minutes/day, p<0.001) was related to increased ST, while being overweight (reference=normal) was negatively associated with ST (-20.7±9.9 minutes/day, p=0.04). An education higher than high-school (57.4±12.7 minutes/day, p<0.001) and being employed (22.5±10.7 minutes/day, p=0.04) were positively related to weekday-ST, but not to weekend-ST.

Conclusion: This is the first study to quantify ST for Mexican adults. Excessive ST seems to be widespread among Mexican adults across genders and SES. Our findings suggest that beyond occupational-ST, Mexican adults engage in substantial leisure-ST. Interventions should target leisure-time, and particularly weekends, to reduce ST among Mexicans.