Estimated activity patterns in British 45 year olds: cross-sectional findings from the 1958 British birth cohort

Objective: To investigate patterns of, and associations between, physical activity at work and in leisure time, television viewing and computer use. Subjects: 4531 men and 4594 women with complete plausible data, age 44–45 years, participating in the 1958 British birth cohort study. Methods: Physical activity, television viewing and computer use (hours/week) were estimated using a self-complete questionnaire and intensity (MET hours/week) derived for physical activity. Relationships were investigated using linear regression and χ 2 tests. Results: From a target sample of 11 971, 9223 provided information on physical activity, of whom 75 and 47% provided complete and plausible activity data on work and leisure time activity respectively. Men and women spent a median of 40.2 and 34.2 h/week, respectively in work activity, and 8.3 and 5.8 h/week in leisure activity. Half of all participants watched television for ⩾2 h/day, and half used a computer for