Objectives:
We aimed to evaluate physical activity patterns according to participation in the ‘sports for all’ programs in community-dwelling Korean adults. We also investigated the association between meeting physical activity guidelines and participation in sports activities and the risk of hypertension.
Methods:
For the present study, we clustered and randomly selected participants from Chungcheongbuk-do in Korea. From a total of 520 participants, 493 completed the survey, and the response rate was 92%. After excluding participants who had missing data for physical activity, demographics, health-related behaviors, and clinical health conditions, a total of 481 participants were included in the study.
Results:
We observed a lower risk of hypertension in the sports activities group than in the inactive group after adjustment for age and sex (OR: 0.42, 95% CI: 0.17-0.99). The results were unchanged after adjustment for education levels and household income. In the fully adjusted model, the ORs for hypertension were 0.36 (95% CI: 0.13-0.97) for the sports activity group and 0.33 (95% CI: 0.14-0.78) for those who met the physical activity guidelines.
Conclusion:
The criterion of meeting the physical activity guidelines was significantly associated with a decreased risk of hypertension. In addition, participation in the sports for all program without meeting the recommended level of physical activity was independently associated with a lower risk of hypertension.