Physical activity patterns and socioeconomic position: the German National Health Interview and Examination Survey 1998 (GNHIES98)

Table 1 Selected variables of the participants aged 18–79 in the workforce subsample and the total sample in relation to key outcome variables

	Workforce sample ^a		Vigorous work activity	Total sample		Sports ≥ 2 hours/week	Sitting time weekdays	Energy expenditure ^b
	n	%	%	n	%	%	mean hours	MET/24 hours
Total sample	3809	100	40	6800	100	19	6.9	49.2
Age group (years)
17-39	1898	50	42	2713	42	24	6.7	50.8
40-59	1788	47	38	2563	39	17	6.9	49.7
60-79	123	3	33	1524	24	11	6.8	45.4
Sex
men	2109	55	43	3301	49	22	7.2	51.2
women	1700	45	36	3499	51	15	6.7	47.3
Region in Germany
former East	1221	32	47	2312	34	13	6.8	50.1
former West	2588	68	37	4488	66	21	7.0	48.7
Educational level
primary	1291	34	54	2929	43	14	6.5	49.4
secondary	1851	49	40	2921	43	21	6.9	50.0
tertiary	667	18	12	950	14	25	8.3	45.8
Occupational status
low	1362	36	61	2675	39	13	6.1	51.0
middle	1387	36	29	2225	33	18	7.2	48.2
high	875	23	24	1260	19	23	7.9	47.5
missing	185	5	41	640	9	34	7.3	48.2
Income level
low	864	23	53	1819	27	15	6.4	50.5
middle	1060	28	40	1856	27	19	6.8	49.7
high	1296	34	27	1796	26	24	7.8	47.6
missing	589	15	51	1329	20	16	6.6	48.8
Body mass index
<25	1646	43	37	2705	40	24	6.9	49.0
25 - <30	1497	39	40	2648	39	18	6.9	49.7
≥30	654	17	46	1403	21	9	6.9	48.8
missing	12	<1		44	<1
Self-perceived health
excell./very good	936	25	33	1347	20	32	7.1	49.9
good	2440	64	41	4258	63	16	6.8	49.5
fair/poor	431	11	52	1192	17	11	7.1	47.0
missing	2	<1		3	<1

^a Workforce sample: respondents indicating that they are ‘currently working’. ^b Energy expenditure assessed on the basis of self-reported activities within 24h, expressed in metabolic equivalents (MET) kcal/kg, 1 MET = a person’s caloric consumption at complete rest.

ISSN: 1471-2458