Baseline characteristics of participants by level of total physical activity
| Variable* | Total physical activity (MET-hours/day) | ||||
| 0–8.9 | 8.9–14.3 | 14.3–22.0 | 22.0–33.4 | ≥33.4 | |
| (n=91 228) | (n=91 110) | (n=92 604) | (n=92 655) | (n=93 340) | |
| Age (SD), years | 58.4 (10.9) | 54.7 (10.6) | 50.5 (10.0) | 48.5 (9.2) | 47.1 (8.2) |
| Female, % | 53.3 | 68.4 | 61.7 | 57.2 | 50.6 |
| Socioeconomic and lifestyle factors | |||||
| Urban region, % | 53.7 | 48.4 | 46.3 | 37.2 | 32.5 |
| ≥9 years of education, % | 17.8 | 23.4 | 25.4 | 21.6 | 17.1 |
| Household income ≥¥35 000/year, % | 15.3 | 20.8 | 21.1 | 17.4 | 14.3 |
| Ever regular smoking, % | |||||
| Male | 69.3 | 67.9 | 65.9 | 67.3 | 67.7 |
| Female | 3.5 | 2.7 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 |
| Weekly drinking, % | |||||
| Male | 30.7 | 34.9 | 34.4 | 34.9 | 34.5 |
| Female | 1.9 | 2.0 | 2.1 | 2.3 | 2.4 |
| Total physical activity (SD), MET-hours/day | 5.9 (2.5) | 11.8 (1.6) | 17.8 (2.2) | 27.1 (3.3) | 42.1 (8.3) |
| Sedentary leisure time (SD), hours/day | 3.6 (1.8) | 3.3 (1.5) | 3.0 (1.4) | 2.7 (1.4) | 2.6 (1.3) |
| Blood pressure and anthropometry | |||||
| SBP (SD), mm Hg | 131.8 (23.2) | 131.4 (22.0) | 130.7 (20.7) | 130.3 (20.2) | 129.3 (19.4) |
| RPG (SD), mmol/L | 6.2 (2.9) | 6.1 (2.5) | 6.0 (2.2) | 6.0 (2.0) | 5.9 (1.8) |
| BMI (SD), kg/m2 | 23.9 (3.6) | 23.8 (3.5) | 23.7 (3.3) | 23.4 (3.2) | 23.3 (3.1) |
| Waist circumference (SD), cm | 81.2 (10.3) | 80.9 (9.8) | 80.3 (9.7) | 79.5 (9.4) | 78.9 (9.0) |
| Hip circumference (SD), cm | 91.3 (7.5) | 91.3 (7.1) | 91.0 (6.8) | 90.5 (6.4) | 90.0 (6.1) |
| Waist to hip ratio (SD) | 0.89 (0.07) | 0.89 (0.07) | 0.88 (0.07) | 0.88 (0.07) | 0.87 (0.07) |
| Per cent body fat (SD), % | 28.6 (9.0) | 28.4 (8.6) | 27.8 (8.1) | 27.3 (8.0) | 26.8 (7.8) |
| Height (SD), cm | 158.8 (8.3) | 159.0 (8.0) | 159.0 (8.4) | 158.7 (8.4) | 157.8 (7.9) |
| Disease history, % | |||||
| Diabetes | 7.8 | 6.3 | 5.3 | 4.4 | 3.6 |
| Coronary heart disease | 3.5 | 3.1 | 2.6 | 2.1 | 1.5 |
| Stroke or TIA | 3.2 | 1.6 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 0.9 |
| Hypertension | 13.9 | 12.8 | 10.8 | 9.5 | 8.6 |
| Family history of diabetes | 4.8 | 5.3 | 5.3 | 5.0 | 4.8 |
| Family history of cancer | 13.7 | 13.8 | 14.0 | 14.3 | 13.6 |
*Results were standardised by age, sex and region (where appropriate). Values are means unless otherwise stated.
BMI, body mass index; MET, metabolic equivalent of task; RPG, random plasma glucose; SBP, systolic blood pressure; TIA, transient ischaemic attack.