Health-physical activity biography survey: A nationwide survey of the 45-75 year old residential population in Germany

Aims of the study: It has been demonstrated that physical activity may help delay the aging process, prevent illness and have a positive effect on the progress and outcome of numerous diseases. Conversely, little research is available on the impact of the state of health and physical impairment on physical activity, and the extent to which the onset of illness may result in reduction, cessation or-as the case may be-initiation of physical activity. The intention of the survey is to investigate this question. The data can also be used to address numerous other issues in connection with physical activity and health. The objective of this paper is to present the Health-Physical Activity Biography Survey (HABS) and the first analyses of correlations between physical activity and health. Methods: Following a conceptualization and test phase, 3.044 German speakers aged 40-75 were interviewed between January and March 2012. This is a cross-sectional study involving retrospective documentation of the respondents' physical activity and health biography to separate the health effects of physical activity from the impacts of health problems on physical activity. Results: The first results show that 70 % of respondents in the age group from 40-75 engage in physical activity at least once per week. Bivariate cross-sectional findings also confirm a negative correlation between the presence of various illnesses and physical activity. Conclusions: The data are highly relevant in terms of health reporting. The very close relationship between health and physical activity evident from the analyses suggests a public health benefit of establishing special physical fitness programs for the prevention, cure and rehabilitation of chronic diseases. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.