Technical Report - Donegal Traveller's Project

Health Survey FindingsGeneral Exercise and HouseholdPhysical ActivityGeneral SummaryMost AITHS respondents reported that they undertook physical activity fewer than 3 times per week,with reported rates of strenuous activity fewer than 3 times per week of 76.6% in ROI and 76.3% in NI, ofmoderate activity of 60.1% in ROI and 75.1% in NI and of mild activity of 55.6% in ROI and 67.4% in NI.Men were more active than women.A majority of respondents (70.2% in ROI and 69.9% in NI) reported using a car to go shopping. Rateswere comparable between men and women, but were inversely related to age, with older respondentsless likely to use a car and more likely to go on foot.A quarter of respondents (25.5% in ROI and 26.3% in NI) reported spending less than an hour per weekwatching television or playing computer games but most men and women and all age groups in bothjurisdictions reported appreciable time doing so.CommentaryThe AITHS participants report overall more leisure time physical activity than do the medical cardholders in SLAN 2002 and 2007, and the general population in SLAN 2002 (Table 19). In the SLAN 2002general population, 72.3% of men and 76.4% of women use the car to go shopping, comparable withreported use in AITHS of 70.2% in ROI (70.6% in men and 69.9% in women), and 69.9% in NI (74.5% inmen and 65.5% in women). Marginally lower car usage was described in the SLAN 2002 medical cardholders: 64.2% in men and 65.3% in women.Similar to the figures quoted in the AITHS, 30.8% of the SLAN 2002 general population and 22.8% of theSLAN 2002 medical holder population report watching less than 1 hour per week of television.Table 258: Leisure-time physical activity 3 or more times per week, by intensity of activity inthe AITHS and selected SLAN studiesTravellers (ROI) Travellers (NI) SLAN 2002Medical cardholdersMale(n=577)Female(n=769)Male(n=179)Female(n=186)Male(n=669)Female(n=970)SLAN 2002 generalpopulationMale(n=2,429)Female(n=3,502)SLAN 2007 medicalcard holdersMale(n=1,240)Female(n=2,088)Strenuous 30.6% 17.6% 29.3% 17.8% 5.8% 3.2% 15.2% 6.6% 7.3% 4.2%exerciseModerate 41.9% 38.4% 26.1% 23.8% 16.9% 23.1% 25.9% 37.3% 21.6% 20.8%exerciseMild46.8% 42.7% 32.4% 32.8% 29.3% 30.5% 21.5%* 21.6%* 46.4% 45.7%exercise ** ‘Mild exercise most days’215