Physical activity according to ethnic origin in Finnmark county, Norway. The Finnmark Study

Study objective: Is there a difference in self-reported physical activity between the Norse and Sami population, and could the activity levels have been differently reported in the two ethnic groups? Design: Cross-sectional, population-based study. In addition, we performed interviews to validate the questions used in the survey to measure physical activity. Setting: Finnmark County, Norway. Participants: 866 men and 860 women of Sami origin, and 4105 men and 3948 women of Norse origin. Attendance rate 77.7%. In addition, we interviewed ten Samispeaking and seven Norwegian-speaking persons about physical activity. Main results: Among men, the two ethnic groups differed in leisure time physical activity (χ˝= 11.462, p= 0.009). Sami women were less active than Norse women in leisure time (χ˝= 21.568, p < 0.001). Both Sami men and women were significantly more active during work than Norse persons (χ˝ = 93.819, p < 0.001 for men and χ˝ = 59.323, p< 0.001 for women). Conclusions: Sami men and women were more physically active at work and had a higher total physical activity score than Norse men and women. The variables used to measure different aspect of physical activity seem to be valid in a diverse ethnic population.