CHICAGO, Feb. 12 (UPI) -- When it comes to physical activity, Mexican-Americans are the most active group in the United States, researchers found.
Researchers at the University of Chicago and Arizona State University used electronic devices to measure people's movement.The finding challenges other studies based on self-reports that found non-Hispanic whites are most likely to be physically active, the researchers said.
The study, published in the American Journal of Public Health, found that nearly 27 percent of Mexican-Americans met a national goal of getting at least 30 minutes of moderate activity five days a week or vigorous activity for 20 minutes at least three days a week; about 20 percent of whites and 15 percent of blacks achieved that level of exercise.
Sandra Ham, now a graduate student at the University of Chicago, who based the paper on her work as a researcher with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, said Mexican-Americans and other Latinos may not report all of their activity on surveys because they often have jobs that require manual labor and most national surveys do not ask about physical activity at work.
They also may walk and use public transit more often than other groups because their rates of car ownership are relatively low, she added.