Reported frequency of physical activity in a large epidemiological study: relationship to specific activities and repeatability over time

Table 1 Excess MET-hours ^a for activity at follow-up in relation to baseline frequency of activity

		Hours and excess MET-hours ^a per week spent doing various activities reported ~3 years after baseline
		Strenuous activity ^b		Aggregate of various activities ^c
Frequency of strenuous physical activity reported at baseline	Number of women	hours mean	MET-hours ^a mean (SD)	hours mean	MET-hours ^a mean (SD)
Never	261,857	0.8	5.6 (21.3)	21.7	52.4 (39.0)
< Once per week	79,962	1.1	7.8 (20.2)	22.7	57.3 (38.0)
Once per week	115,573	1.5	10.7 (20.5)	23.4	61.5 (38.5)
2 to 3 times per week	96,415	2.4	16.5 (25.0)	24.8	69.5 (42.5)
4 to 6 times per week	19,394	3.4	23.9 (34.1)	27.2	81.3 (50.6)
Daily	16,431	3.5	24.3 (50.8)	31.1	90.6 (69.1)
Correlation coefficient			0.37	0.12	0.22
P for trend			< 0.0001	< 0.0001	< 0.0001
Frequency of any physical activity reported at baseline
Never	107,346	0.8	5.8 (24.5)	21.0	50.3 (41.4)
< Once per week	49,073	0.9	6.6 (21.2)	20.6	50.9 (37.8)
Once per week	92,317	1.2	8.1 (19.5)	21.3	53.9 (37.0)
2 to 3 times per week	149,138	1.6	11.4 (20.6)	22.7	60.0 (37.5)
4 to 6 times per week	57,585	2.0	13.8 (24.0)	24.2	66.0 (39.6)
Daily	134,437	1.7	12.0 (30.0)	27.0	71.2 (49.0)
Correlation coefficient			0.17	0.17	0.22
P for trend			< 0.0001	< 0.0001	< 0.0001

^a Excess MET-hours: metabolic equivalent hours of energy expenditure in excess of basal metabolic rate; see Methods for details.
^b Reported hours and estimated excess MET-hours ^a spent doing exercise causing sweating or a fast heartbeat
^c Reported hours and estimated excess MET-hours ^a spent doing walking, cycling, gardening, housework, and exercise causing sweating or a fast heartbeat

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