Associations Between Socioeconomic Status Indicators, Baseline Activity and Continued Elevated Physical Activity following a 1-Week Step Challenge

Abstract

Physical activity is an important dynamic of well-being. However, in 2020, the Center for Disease Control determined that only about 46.9% of adults met the recommended standards for leisure-time physical activity and nearly half as many for those below the federal poverty line. The current study investigated how socioeconomic status may be related to engagement in a short-term walking challenge and improved physical activity following the intervention. The study aimed to understand correlations between socioeconomic status and baseline step volume(Aim 1), achievement of the intervention goal of 15% increase in step volume (Aim 2). The investigation also considered who improves in terms of step volume during the intervention period/Week 2 whether or not the met their target step goal (Aim 3), and who improves in terms of step volume during the follow-up period/Week 3 above their baseline, whether or not the met their target step goal (Aim 4), and any other possible relationship between baseline steps, goal achievement and overall improvement in physical activity (Aim 5). The sample included 17 participants, recruited broadly throughout eastern Massachusetts with local recruitment through the East Bridgewater YMCA, Center for Wellness and Health Promotion at Harvard University. Results showed minimal significant relationships between any of the socioeconomic variables and intervention variables. Occupation, when coded for active vs sedentary showed a moderate correlation to intervention achievement. Additionally, the study findings confirm prior research suggesting that those already primed for physical activity are those who are most likely to engage and benefit from physical activity and wellness interventions, with results showing a correlation between those with higher baseline step counts more likely to have higher step counts in the follow-up week and those who achieved their target goal being most likely to have higher step counts in the follow-up week. The study failed to confirm the presumed relationship between these variables and socioeconomic status. This however may be associated to the small sample size as well as possible human error in the self- report step count measures.