Aerobic physical activity and muscle-strengthening exercise guideline adherence in Germany: findings from a national sample of 24,016 adults

Abstract Background The German ‘National Recommendations for Physical Activity and Physical Activity Promotion’ state that adults (≥18 years) should engage in: [i] ≥150 minutes of aerobic moderate-to-vigorous-intensity physical activity/week (MVPA); and [ii] ≥2 days/week of muscle-strengthening exercise (MSE). However, there is limited research on the adherence to these guidelines among German adults. The present purpose was to describe the prevalence and correlates of physical activity guideline adherence among a nationally representative sample of German adults. Methods Data were drawn from the 2014 German Health Update survey, collected via a combination of web-based and mail surveys. Self-reported physical activity levels were assessed using the previously validated European Health Interview Survey Physical Activity Questionnaire. Weighted prevalence levels of the sample meeting the aerobic MVPA (≥150 minutes/week), MSE (≥2 times/week) and combined MVPA-MSE guidelines were calculated. Poisson regressions were used to assess prevalence ratios for physical activity guideline adherence categories across sociodemographic (age, sex, socioeconomic status) and lifestyle-related (self-rated health, BMI) variables. Results Out of 24,016 participants (response rate = 27.6%), aged ≥18 years, 45.3% (95% CI: 44.5-46.0%), 29.4% (95% CI: 28.7-30.1%) and 22.6% (95% CI: 21.9-23.2%) met the aerobic MVPA, MSE and combined guidelines, respectively. Population sub-groups independently less likely to meet the combined guidelines included those with poor self-rated health, low socioeconomic status and those being overweight or obese. Conclusions As almost 80% of German adults do not meet the nationally recommended combined aerobic MVPA-MSE physical activity guidelines, there is a necessity for large-scale public health interventions promoting both aerobic MVPA and MSE.