The relationships among physical activity, sedentary behaviour, obesity and quitting behaviours within a cohort of smokers in California

Abstract Background Smoking, insufficient physical activity (PA), sedentary behaviour (SB) and obesity are leading risk factors for morbidity and premature mortality. Few studies examining the relationship between these behavioural risk factors and quitting behaviours among cohorts of smokers have been published. Purpose The goals of this study are to examine the cross-sectional relationships among behavioural health risk factors (insufficient PA, SB and obesity) and past year quitting behaviours within a sample of smokers. Methods The California Smokers Cohort, conducted from 2011 through 2013, is a population-based survey of adult smokers in California. Using follow-up data ( n = 1050), participants' self-reported health behaviours and past year quitting behaviours were examined in univariate analyses and multivariate logistic regression analyses controlling for demographic covariates. Results In univariate analyses examining health behaviours among smokers, all three health behaviours examined (PA, SB and obesity) were related, and significantly more obese smokers with high PA and low SB reported a ≥20% smoking rate reduction than smokers with other combinations of health behaviours (48.8%, Chi-squared = 4.765, P = 0.045). In multivariate models adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics, obese smokers (odds ratio [OR] = 1.450, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.088–1.932, P = 0.011) and smokers with higher levels of PA (OR = 1.448, 95% CI: 1.111–1.887, P = 0.006) were more likely to report a past year ≥24-hour quit attempt regardless of SB, and obese smokers (OR = 1.760, 95% CI: 1.095–2.828, P = 0.019) were more likely to report being quit for ≥30 days regardless of PA and SB. Conclusions Overall, the results demonstrated that more physically active and obese smokers were more likely to report positive strides towards quitting. These findings support the potential positive effect of addressing multiple health behaviours along with smoking.