Longer leisure walking time is associated with positive self-rated health among adults and older adults: a Brazilian nationwide study

Background: To verify the association between weekly leisure walking time and positive self-rated health in the Brazilian adult and elderly population.

Methods: This cross-sectional study used information collected in 2019 across all regions of Brazil. This study included 25,785 people aged ≥ 18 years (mean = 51.6; standard deviation = 18.0) from all capitals of the Brazilian states who reported practicing walking as physical activity during leisure time. Self-rated health was the dependent variable (positive or negative). The leisure walking time/week was the main exposure and it was categorized in "150 minutes/week", "150-299 minutes/week" and "≥ 300 minutes/week". We used binary logistic regression to estimate odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) that was adjusted for relevant covariates.

Results: We found that individuals who reported leisure walking for a period from 150 to 299 minutes/week and those who reported walking for a period ≥ 300 minutes/week were respectively 28% (OR = 1.28. 95% CI [1.10-1.48]) and 52% (OR = 1.52. 95% CI [1.27-1.82]) more likely of perceiving their health positively compared to those who reported walking for a period < 150 minutes/week. Individuals who reported leisure walking time <150 minutes/week had 72.3% (95% CI [70.4-74.1]) probability of perceiving their health positively. Individuals who reported leisure walking time from 150 to 299 minutes/week had 76.6% (95% CI [75.0 -78.3) probability of perceiving their health positively. On the other hand, individuals who reported leisure walking time ≥ 300 minutes/week had 79.2% probability (95% CI [77.1-81.4]) of perceiving their health positively.

Conclusion: Longer leisure walking time was associated with positive self-rated health among adults and older adults in Brazil.