Intersectionality and Physical Activity Participation in Aotearoa, New Zealand: A Cross-Sectional Analysis Using Active NZ Survey.

Abstract

Background: Physical activity participation varies across demographic groups; however, less is known about how intersecting sociodemographic characteristics influence the likelihood of meeting physical activity guidelines in Aotearoa, New Zealand. This study explored the type and number of characteristics most strongly associated with reduced odds of meeting physical activity guidelines in New Zealand.

Methods: The Active New Zealand 2023 adult and young people surveys were used. Sociodemographic characteristics included age, gender, ethnicity, deprivation, and disability. Multivariable logistic regression analyses estimated the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for the association between meeting physical activity guidelines and the number and type of demographic characteristics.

Results: Of 5890 young people, the lowest odds of meeting physical activity guidelines were among participants identifying as Asian (OR = 0.48, 95% CI = 0.39-0.59), when holding other characteristics constant. Of 15,836 adults, the lowest odds were among participants with a disability (OR = 0.51, 95% CI = 0.44-0.58). For both samples, the odds of meeting physical activity guidelines lowered for every increment in the number of characteristics. After stratifying by gender, young males had lower odds of meeting physical activity guidelines across each count of characteristics compared with young females (one characteristic: OR = 0.45, 95% CI = 0.36-0.56; 2 characteristics: OR = 0.26, 95% CI = 0.21-0.36; 3 or more characteristics: OR = 0.17, 95% CI = 0.10-0.29).

Conclusion: The findings from this study highlight the need to account for the intersectionality of individuals' sociodemographic characteristics when designing future physical activity programs.