Open Access, Peer-reviewed
eISSN 2951-3146
    Korean J Community Nutr. 2011 Dec;16(6):751-761. Korean.
    Published online Dec 31, 2011.
    https://doi.org/10.5720/kjcn.2011.16.6.751
    Copyright © 2011 The Korean Society of Community Nutrition
    Original Article

    Assessment of Physical Activity Level of Korean Farmers to Establish Estimated Energy Requirements during Busy Farming Season

    Eun Kyung Kim, Sun Hee Lee, Su Young Ko, Seo Eun Yeon and Jeong Sook Choe1)
      • Department of Food and Nutrition, Gangneung-Wonju National University, Gangwon-do, Korea.
      • 1)National Academy of Agricultural Science, Rural Development Administration, Suwon, Korea.
    • Corresponding author: Eun Kyung Kim, Department of Food & Nutrition, Gangneung-Wonju National University, 120 Kangnungdaehangno, Gangneung, Gangwon-do 210-702, Korea. Tel: (033) 640-2336, Fax: (033) 640-2330, Email: ekkim@gwnu.ac.kr
    Received November 09, 2011; Revised November 22, 2011; Accepted November 28, 2011.

    Abstract

    The purpose of this study was to assess the physical activity level of Korean farmers to establish their estimated energy requirements during busy farming season. 113 farmers (mean age 51.9 ± 7.2 years, male 42, female 71) who own farmland area above 300 pyung participated in measurement of body weight and height and interviewing of one-day activity diaries. There was no significant difference in age, BMI between male and female. Obesity prevalence according to BMI among male and female farmers was 40.5% and 50.7% respectively. The farmers spent about 7 hours in sleeping and spent about 4 hours 35 minutes working on the farm and spent about 15 hours 30 minutes (64.6% of 24 hours) in "very light activities" and spent about 3 hours 31 minutes (14.7%) in "light activities". Physical activity level (PAL, activity coefficient) of male farmers was 2.63 which was significantly higher than that (2.19) of female farmers (p < 0.05). Estimated energy requirements (EER) for farmers who were different in age and gender were suggested. For example, the estimated energy requirements for male and female farmers were 3058 kcal/day and 2279 kcal/day, respectively. The results of this study suggest that estimated energy requirements (EER) of farmers should be differentiated according to seasonal workload and energy balance of farmers should be evaluated to prevent obesity.

    Keywords
    physical activity level; farmer; energy expenditure; estimated energy requirement

    Tables

    Table 1
    Distribution of subjects by gender and age group

    Table 2
    Anthropometric measurements of subjects by gender

    Table 3
    Prevalence of obesity among subjects according to body mass index (BMI)

    Table 4
    Activity examples, expending time and physical activity level by 18 activity levels

    Table 5
    Comparison of spending time of subjects by 4 activity levels

    Table 6
    Comparison of physical activity level(PAL) by age groups

    Table 7
    Comparison of physical activity level by farming type

    Table 8
    Estimated energy requirements(EER) of subjects by gender and age group

    Notes

    This research was supported by grants from rural development administration of Korea (RDA: 20110701-037-506-001-03-00)

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    MeSH Terms
    Body Weight
    Energy Metabolism
    Female
    Humans
    Light
    Male
    Motor Activity
    Obesity
    Prevalence
    Seasons
    Metrics
    Share
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