Association of informal caregiving with body mass index and frequency of sporting activities: evidence of a population-based study in Germany
Abstract Background While most studies focused solely on the comparison between informal caregivers and non-caregivers, little is known about the relation between caregiving time or caregiving activities and lifestyle factors. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine whether informal caregiving ti...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2017-09-01
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| Series: | BMC Public Health |
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| Online Access: | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12889-017-4786-6 |
| _version_ | 1828176913702584320 |
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| author | André Hajek Jens-Oliver Bock Hans-Helmut König |
| author_facet | André Hajek Jens-Oliver Bock Hans-Helmut König |
| author_sort | André Hajek |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background While most studies focused solely on the comparison between informal caregivers and non-caregivers, little is known about the relation between caregiving time or caregiving activities and lifestyle factors. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine whether informal caregiving time and type of caregiving activities are associated with body mass index (BMI) and the frequency of sporting activities among informal caregivers. Methods Cross-sectional data were gathered from the German Ageing Survey, a nationally representative study among community-dwelling individuals aged ≥40 that includes a total of n = 1380 people who provide informal care services. Self-reported BMI and self-reported frequency of sporting activities (daily; several times a week; once a week; 1-3 times a month; less often; never) were used as dependent variables. The average time of providing informal care per week as well as four different caregiving activities (help around the house; looking after someone; performing nursing care services; help in another way) were included as independent variables. Multiple ordinal and linear regressions were used to estimate the association between caregiving factors and the frequency of sporting activities and BMI, respectively. Results Among the 1380 informal caregivers, 65% provided help around the house, 83% looked after people, 28% provided nursing care services, and 68% provided any other help. Bivariate analyses showed that sporting activities and BMI differed by status of providing nursing care services, whereas the other three types of informal caregiving were not associated with BMI nor frequency of sporting activities except for the latter and provision of help around the house. Multiple regressions showed that BMI increased with caregiving time and performing nursing care services, whereas it was not associated with the other three caregiving activities. Likewise, the frequency of sporting activities decreased only with caregiving time and performing nursing care services. Conclusions The present study revealed that caregiving time and performing nursing care services are associated with a higher BMI and a decreased frequency of sporting activities. As both, a higher BMI and fewer sporting activities are in turn related to various adverse health outcomes, this knowledge should be taken into account when planning informal caregiving. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T04:50:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1652611a9c264151a0461d47422363df |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1471-2458 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T04:50:54Z |
| publishDate | 2017-09-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-1652611a9c264151a0461d47422363df2022-12-22T03:47:17ZengBMCBMC Public Health1471-24582017-09-0117111010.1186/s12889-017-4786-6Association of informal caregiving with body mass index and frequency of sporting activities: evidence of a population-based study in GermanyAndré Hajek0Jens-Oliver Bock1Hans-Helmut König2Department of Health Economics and Health Services Research, Hamburg Center for Health Economics, University Medical Center Hamburg-EppendorfDepartment of Health Economics and Health Services Research, Hamburg Center for Health Economics, University Medical Center Hamburg-EppendorfDepartment of Health Economics and Health Services Research, Hamburg Center for Health Economics, University Medical Center Hamburg-EppendorfAbstract Background While most studies focused solely on the comparison between informal caregivers and non-caregivers, little is known about the relation between caregiving time or caregiving activities and lifestyle factors. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine whether informal caregiving time and type of caregiving activities are associated with body mass index (BMI) and the frequency of sporting activities among informal caregivers. Methods Cross-sectional data were gathered from the German Ageing Survey, a nationally representative study among community-dwelling individuals aged ≥40 that includes a total of n = 1380 people who provide informal care services. Self-reported BMI and self-reported frequency of sporting activities (daily; several times a week; once a week; 1-3 times a month; less often; never) were used as dependent variables. The average time of providing informal care per week as well as four different caregiving activities (help around the house; looking after someone; performing nursing care services; help in another way) were included as independent variables. Multiple ordinal and linear regressions were used to estimate the association between caregiving factors and the frequency of sporting activities and BMI, respectively. Results Among the 1380 informal caregivers, 65% provided help around the house, 83% looked after people, 28% provided nursing care services, and 68% provided any other help. Bivariate analyses showed that sporting activities and BMI differed by status of providing nursing care services, whereas the other three types of informal caregiving were not associated with BMI nor frequency of sporting activities except for the latter and provision of help around the house. Multiple regressions showed that BMI increased with caregiving time and performing nursing care services, whereas it was not associated with the other three caregiving activities. Likewise, the frequency of sporting activities decreased only with caregiving time and performing nursing care services. Conclusions The present study revealed that caregiving time and performing nursing care services are associated with a higher BMI and a decreased frequency of sporting activities. As both, a higher BMI and fewer sporting activities are in turn related to various adverse health outcomes, this knowledge should be taken into account when planning informal caregiving.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12889-017-4786-6Informal careSportsBody-mass-indexObservational study |
| spellingShingle | André Hajek Jens-Oliver Bock Hans-Helmut König Association of informal caregiving with body mass index and frequency of sporting activities: evidence of a population-based study in Germany BMC Public Health Informal care Sports Body-mass-index Observational study |
| title | Association of informal caregiving with body mass index and frequency of sporting activities: evidence of a population-based study in Germany |
| title_full | Association of informal caregiving with body mass index and frequency of sporting activities: evidence of a population-based study in Germany |
| title_fullStr | Association of informal caregiving with body mass index and frequency of sporting activities: evidence of a population-based study in Germany |
| title_full_unstemmed | Association of informal caregiving with body mass index and frequency of sporting activities: evidence of a population-based study in Germany |
| title_short | Association of informal caregiving with body mass index and frequency of sporting activities: evidence of a population-based study in Germany |
| title_sort | association of informal caregiving with body mass index and frequency of sporting activities evidence of a population based study in germany |
| topic | Informal care Sports Body-mass-index Observational study |
| url | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12889-017-4786-6 |
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