Associations between Activity Preference and Perceived Stress among Chinese Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study from the China Health and Nutrition Survey

Background: to explore the associations between the preferences of physical activities and sedentary activities and perceived stress in Chinese adults. Methods: : data from 9334 Chinese adults were extracted from the China Health and Nutrition Survey in 2015. The Perceived Stress Scale-14 was used to measure stress perception among adults. Activity preference is based on responses to six activities option questions, including walking or Tai Chi, sports, body building, watching TV, playing computer games and reading. Multinomial logistic regression was used to examine the associations between activity preference and perceived stress after adjusting for confounding factors. Results: : Activity preference was significant associated with perceived stress. Compared with low-stress group, participants’ preferences for four activities including walking or Tai Chi (OR=0.52, 95% CI: 0.32-0.84), watching TV (OR=0.32, 95% CI: 0.16-0.63), playing computer games (OR=0.52, 95% CI: 0.37-0.73) and reading (OR=0.57, 95% CI: 0.39-0.83) were negatively associated with perceived stress in middle-stress group; while participants’ preferences for all of the physical activities and sedentary activities were negatively associated with perceived stress in high-stress group. Conclusions: : The study demonstrates inverse associations between activity preferences and perceived stress. Activity interventions based on preferences may be helpful in promoting activity behaviors and reducing perceived stress.