LAUSR

PURPOSE In a cross-sectional sample of US Hispanic/Latino adults, we aimed to describe step-based metric distributions, estimate their associations with activity counts and self-report, and calibrate step-based translations of current (2018) US physical activity (PA) guidelines, i.e., ≥150 min/week moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) from accelerometer counts and self-report. METHODS The Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos enrolled 16,415 Hispanic/Latino adults 18-74 years from four US cities (2008-2011). Participants completed the Global PA Questionnaire and one week of Actical accelerometer wear (n = 12,528). Weighted medians were used to describe step-based metrics, and Spearman correlations estimated their relationships with count-based and self-reported PA indicators. Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were used to examine the ability of each step-based metric to classify participants meeting PA guidelines. RESULTS Overall, US Hispanic/Latino adults accumulated medians of 6,770 steps/day and 6, 18, 236, and 630 min/day at ≥100, ≥70, 1-69, and 0 steps/min, respectively. Count-based time in MVPA, light PA, and sedentary behavior were most strongly correlated (rs = 0.79-0.85) with times ≥70, 1-69, and 0 steps/min, respectively, while self-reported MVPA had similar correlations with steps/day and times ≥40 and ≥ 70 steps/min (rs = 0.28-0.29). Time ≥ 70 steps/min had the greatest capacity to classify participants meeting PA guidelines with both measures of MVPA. CONCLUSIONS This study provides the first normative values (based on percentiles) of step-based metrics for US Hispanic/Latino adults, which can facilitate surveillance, program planning, research, and data interpretation. Our finding that PA guidelines corresponded to 6,000-7,000 steps/day or ~ 20 min/day at ≥70 steps/min with an Actical accelerometer can be considered alongside dose-response relationships with health outcomes to develop step-based recommendations that are consistent with and better communicate PA guidelines.