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You are here:   Home → Personal Environment → Physical Activity
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Indicator: Physical Activity

Data and Data Discussion provided by Communities Count

Figure 1: Percentage of King County Adults Who Meet Moderate Level of Activity

Figure 2: Percentage of King County Adults Who Meet Moderate Level of Activity by Age, Race/Ethnicity, Income, and Education

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Upstream Indicators
  •   Access to Fresh Food --- “While some areas at risk of food insecurity are served by grocery stores, several other areas are not. In areas that are not well served by grocery stores, food insecure households likely face economic and social barriers as well as geographic barriers.” (Acting Food Policy Council, 2008). As this is a new indicator, trend data are not available.   (view data graph)
  •   Freedom from Discrimination --- Indicator information based on three surveys conducted in 1999, 2001 and 2004. There were no significant changes over the three survey years for the county.  (view data graph)
  •   Income Distribution --- In the two decades between 1979 and 1999, there was a shift of income away from the four lower income groups to the highest income group. In King County in 2004, the richest 20% of the population received more than ten times the income of the poorest 20%.  (view data graph)
  •   Land Use Mix --- The data for this indicator was taken from a snapshot study of King County.  
  •   Social Support --- There are no significant differences in average social support level by region and no significant changes between 1999, 2001, and 2004.  (view data graph)
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Downstream Indicators
  •   Prevalence of Overweight & Obese Adults --- The proportion of King County adults who are overweight and obese continues to climb. In 2006, almost one in five adults were obese and more than half were overweight. Nearly nine percent of school age children were overweight.  (view data graph)
  •   Stress --- There was no significant increase or decrease in the average stress score for adults in King County between 2001 and 2004.   (view data graph)
  •   Suicide Rates --- Suicide death rates have fluctuated but, overall, decreased since the 1980s and hospitalizations for suicide attempts have declined since the early 1990s.   (view data graph)
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Related Goals

Sustainability Snapshot:

Regular physical activity is an important part of a healthy lifestyle. Lack of exercise and being overweight are risk factors for serious illnesses such as coronary heart disease, hypertension and diabetes, and contribute to premature death. In a 2008 analysis of the 16 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S, Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue ranked second most fit, slightly behind San Francisco. (1)

Sustainability Trend:

A person has met the recommended level of physical activity if they report having at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity at least 5 times per week. This is a new standard since these physical activity figures were last reported, therefore trend data are not available.

Data Discussion

The Indicator Defined

Percent of Adults 18+ Who Meet Recommended Level of Moderate Physical Activity, King County

Data Interpretation/Evaluation

A person has met the recommended level of physical activity if they report having at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity at least 5 times per week. This is a new standard since these physical activity figures were last reported. In previous reports, being physically active was defined as vigorous-intensity physical activity for 20 or more minutes 3 or more times per week.

In 2004, 22.8% of Americans reported that they had not participated in any physical activity in the preceding month. That figure for Washington State was only 17.2%, and for King County it was 14.5% (data not shown).

55.2% of King County adults reported meeting the recommended level of moderate physical activity based on an average of 2001 and 2003 survey results. (Figure 1) In Seattle, 58.1% of adults met the recommended physical activity level, the highest of the four regions. South Region had the lowest proportion of adults who met the recommended level, 52.0%.

Persons age 18 to 24 are more likely than those age 45 and older to meet the recommended level of moderate physical activity. (Figure 2) Males and females are equally likely to have met the recommended level of moderate physical activity (data not shown). 57.2% of Whites meet the recommended level of physical activity. This percentage is higher than any other race/ethnicity group.

As education increases, so does the likelihood that recommended levels of physical activity are met. 59.1% of college graduates meet recommended levels while only 42.3% of those without a high school degree meet recommended levels. The proportion of those meeting recommended physical activity levels increases as income rises although the increases are not significant.

Data Source and Limitations

Data on adult physical activity and weight were contributed by Communities Count (www.communitiescount.org) and are based on data from the Washington State and national Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). The BRFSS is a random telephone interview survey of non-institutionalized adults age 18 and older that has been conducted in King County every year since 1987. The question on physical activity level (how long and how many times per week) has been included since 2001 and is asked only every other year. The question on any physical activity in the previous month is asked every year. The geographic boundaries of the four King County subregions are defined by aggregating zip codes.

For a hypothetical person who is 5’10’’ tall and weighs 165 lbs, the Body Mass Index would be calculated as: BMI = 704.5 X 165 lbs/(70 inches)2 = 23.7 (where 704.5 is a conversion constant). 

The limitations of an English-only telephone survey include the following: a) people who do not have a telephone are missed, b) people who do not speak English do not participate, c) people who have less education and lower incomes tend to be underrepresented.

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