Lifestyle behaviors and receipt of preventive health care services among hypertensive Americans aged 45 years or older in 2007.

OBJECTIVE.: The aim of the study was to explore opportunities for more effective interventions on lifestyle modifications among hypertensives. METHODS.: Using 2007 data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System from the United States, we assessed the prevalence of various lifestyle behaviors and receipt of preventive health care services among US adults aged 45 years or older based on hypertension and treatment status (n=218,228). RESULTS.: Compared with nonhypertensives, hypertensives were significantly less likely to engage in recommended levels of physical activity and to be more obese regardless of treatment status. Compared to nonhypertensives, hypertensives on medical treatment were less likely to consume five or more servings of fruit and vegetables per day, be current smokers, and binge drinkers. Hypertensives not on medical treatment were more likely to be current smokers, binge and heavy drinkers. Hypertensives on medical treatment were more likely to have routine health checkup, have blood cholesterol checkup within previous 5 years and have a flu shot within the previous year than hypertensives not on treatment. CONCLUSION.: Different patterns of lifestyle behaviors and use of preventive health care services were found based on treatment status among hypertensives. Intervention programs should be tailored accordingly to achieve optimal outcome on lifestyle modification.

Effects of a community-based, professionally supervised intervention on physical activity levels among residents of Recife, Brazil.

OBJECTIVES: We evaluated the effects of a community-based intervention, the Academia da Cidade program (ACP), on increasing leisure-time physical activity among residents of Recife, Brazil. METHODS: We used the International Physical Activity Questionnaire to assess leisure-time physical activity and transport physical activity (i.e., activities involved in traveling from place to place) levels in a random sample of 2047 Recife residents surveyed in 2007. We also examined factors related to exposure to ACP (participation in the intervention, residing near an intervention site, hearing about or seeing intervention activities). We estimated prevalence odds ratios (ORs) of moderate to high leisure-time and transport physical activity levels via intervention exposures adjusted for sociodemographic, health, and environmental variables. RESULTS: Prevalence ORs for moderate to high levels of leisure-time physical activity were higher among former (prevalence OR=2.0; 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.0, 3.9) and current (prevalence OR=11.3; 95% CI=3.5, 35.9) intervention participants and those who had heard about or seen an intervention activity (prevalence OR=1.8; 95% CI=1.3, 2.5). Transport physical activity levels were inversely associated with residing near an ACP site. CONCLUSIONS: The ACP program appears to be an effective public health strategy to increase population-level physical activity in urban developing settings.