Table of Contents

Component Description

This file is the second of two files on physical activities and includes detailed information about specific leisure-time activities only.

Eligible Sample

All survey participants 12 or more years of age were eligible.

Interview Setting and Mode of Administration

For respondents 12–15 years of age, information about specific leisure-time activities was obtained in the Mobile Examination Center (MEC). For respondents 16 or more years of age, the information was obtained in the household interview.

Data Processing and Editing

individual activities file. If a respondent reported no leisure-time activities, there are no records in the file for that respondent. Because of the recoding of “other” leisure-time activities, it is possible for a respondent to have two records for the same activity with the same level of exertion. For example, a respondent may have reported vigorous bicycling and vigorous spinning, which was recoded as bicycling.

PADACTIV: Numeric code for the reported activity (see Appendix 1).

PADLEVEL: Level of exertion reported for the activity. Activities reported as involving moderate exertion were coded 1 and vigorous were coded 2.

PADTIMES: Number of times the activity was done over the past 30 days. Originally reported as number of times per day, per week or per month and converted to number of times over the past 30 days.

PADDURAT: Average number of minutes the activity was done each time. The data was originally reported in hours or minutes and hours were converted to minutes.

PADMETS: Metabolic equivalent (MET) score for the activity (see Appendix 1). They were obtained from the reference below and personal communication with the author.

Activities for which the reported duration (PADDURAT) was less than 10 minutes were excluded.

PADTIMES and PADDURAT were set to missing for activities in which the total time per day was 12 hours or more. For example, if bowling was reported an average of 3 times a day over the past 30 days for an average of 4 hours each time, PADTIMES and PADDURAT were set to missing for this activity.

Analytic Notes

Because the PAQIAF questions for respondents 16 or more years of age were asked in the household interview, the interview sample weights may be used in their analysis. However, if the data is joined with data from the MEC, the MEC sample weights should be used. Analysis of the PAQIAF questions for 12–15 year olds should use the MEC sample weights as the questions were asked in the MEC.

Suggested metabolic equivalent (MET) scores for the activities listed in this file are included in Appendix 1. They were obtained from the reference below and personal communication with the author.

Please refer to the Analytic Guidelines for further details on the use of sample weights and other analytic issues at https://wwwn.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes/analyticguidelines.aspx

The PAQIAF data are publicly available at www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes.htm.

References

Codebook and Frequencies

SEQN - Respondent sequence number

Variable Name:
SEQN
SAS Label:
Respondent sequence number
English Text:
Respondent sequence number
Target:
Both males and females 12 YEARS - 150 YEARS

PADACTIV - Leisure time activity

Variable Name:
PADACTIV
SAS Label:
Leisure time activity
English Text:
[Over the past 30 days], what {vigorous/moderate} activities did {you/SP} do?
English Instructions:
CODE ALL THAT APPLY.
Target:
Both males and females 12 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
10 AEROBICS 523 523
11 BASEBALL 143 666
12 BASKETBALL 1176 1842
13 BICYCLING 865 2707
14 BOWLING 169 2876
15 DANCE 830 3706
16 FISHING 163 3869
17 FOOTBALL 469 4338
18 GARDENING 17 4355
19 GOLF 247 4602
20 HIKING 304 4906
21 HOCKEY 53 4959
22 HUNTING 71 5030
23 JOGGING 646 5676
24 KAYAKING 35 5711
25 PUSH-UPS 1 5712
26 RACQUETBALL 35 5747
27 ROLLERBLADING 107 5854
28 ROWING 41 5895
29 RUNNING 980 6875
30 SIT-UPS 6 6881
31 SKATING 128 7009
32 SKIING - CROSS COUNTRY 20 7029
33 SKIING - DOWNHILL 19 7048
34 SOCCER 349 7397
35 SOFTBALL 92 7489
36 STAIR CLIMBING 284 7773
37 STRETCHING 447 8220
38 SWIMMING 452 8672
39 TENNIS 158 8830
40 TREADMILL 454 9284
41 VOLLEYBALL 229 9513
42 WALKING 2096 11609
43 WEIGHT LIFTING 638 12247
44 YARD WORK 23 12270
50 BOXING 66 12336
51 FRISBEE 65 12401
52 HORSEBACK RIDING 31 12432
53 MARTIAL ARTS 63 12495
54 WRESTLING 99 12594
55 YOGA 119 12713
56 CHEERLEADING AND GYMNASTICS 23 12736
57 CHILDREN'S GAMES (E.G. DODGEBALL, KICKBALL) 17 12753
58 ROPE JUMPING 30 12783
59 SKATEBOARDING 19 12802
60 SURFING 4 12806
61 TRAMPOLINE JUMPING 8 12814
71 OTHER 53 12867
. Missing 0 12867

PADLEVEL - Activity level

Variable Name:
PADLEVEL
SAS Label:
Activity level
English Text:
Reported intensity level of activity.
Target:
Both males and females 12 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 MODERATE 7185 7185
2 VIGOROUS 5682 12867
. Missing 0 12867

PADTIMES - # of times did activity in past 30 days

Variable Name:
PADTIMES
SAS Label:
# of times did activity in past 30 days
English Text:
[Over the past 30 days], how often did {you/SP} do {activity}?
Target:
Both males and females 12 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 to 300 Range of Values 12847 12847
. Missing 20 12867

PADDURAT - Average duration of activity (minutes)

Variable Name:
PADDURAT
SAS Label:
Average duration of activity (minutes)
English Text:
[Over the past 30 days], on average about how long did {you/SP} do {activity} each time?
Target:
Both males and females 12 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
10 to 600 Range of Values 12848 12848
. Missing 19 12867

PADMETS - MET score for activity

Variable Name:
PADMETS
SAS Label:
MET score for activity
English Text:
Metabolic equivalent(MET) intensity level for activity.
Target:
Both males and females 12 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
2.5 to 10 Range of Values 12867 12867
. Missing 0 12867

PAAQUEX - Questionnaire source flag for weighting

Variable Name:
PAAQUEX
SAS Label:
Questionnaire source flag for weighting
English Text:
Questionnaire source flag for weighting
Target:
Both males and females 12 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 Sample Person Interview Questionnaire Targets (B(16-150)) 9878 9878
2 MEC CAPI Questionnaire Targets (B(12-15)) 2989 12867
. Missing 0 12867

Appendix 1. Physical Activity Codes

Physical Activity Codes
Code Activity Moderate MET Code Vigorous MET code
10

Aerobics

5.0 7.0
11

Baseball

5.0 6.0
12

Basketball

6.0 8.0
13 Bicycling 4.0 8.0
14

Bowling

3.0 3.0
15

Dance

4.5 6.0
16

Fishing

3.5 6.0
17 Football 5.0 8.0
18 Gardening 4.0 5.0
19 Golf 3.5 4.5
20 Hiking 6.0 7.0
21 Hockey 6.0 8.0

22

Hunting 5.0 6.0
23 Jogging 6.0 7.0
24 Kayaking 3.5 7.0
25 Push-ups 3.5 8.0
26 Racquetball 7.0 10.0
27 Rollerblading 6.0 7.0
28 Rowing 3.5 7.0
29 Running 7.0 10.0
30 Sit-ups 3.5 8.0
31 Skating 5.0 7.0
32 Skiing – cross country 7.0 9.0
33 Skiing – downhill 6.0 8.0
34 Soccer 6.0 10.0
35 Softball 5.0 6.0
36 Stair Climbing 6.0 8.0
37 Stretching 2.5 2.5
38 Swimming 6.0 8.0
39 Tennis 5.0 7.0
40 Treadmill 4.5 7.0
41 Volleyball 4.0 8.0
42 Walking 3.5 5.0
43 Weight Lifting 3.0 6.0
44 Yard Work 4.0 6.0
50 Boxing 6.0 9.0
51 Frisbee 3.0 8.0
52 Horseback Riding 4.0 6.5
53 Martial Arts 4.0 10.0
54 Wrestling 6.0 8.0
55 Yoga 2.5 4.0
56 Cheerleading and Gymnastics 4.0 6.0
57 Children’s Games - Dodgeball, Kickball, etc. 5.0 6.0
58 Rope Jumping 8.0 10.0
59 Skateboarding 5.0 6.0
60 Surfing 3.0 5.0
61 Trampoline Jumping 3.5 4.5
71 Other 4.5 7.0