Associations between markers of health and playing golf in an Australian population

Brad Stenner; Amber D Mosewich; Jonathan D Buckley; Elizabeth S Buckley

doi:10.1136/bmjsem-2019-000517

Associations between markers of health and playing golf in an Australian population

BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med. 2019 Apr 12;5(1):e000517. doi: 10.1136/bmjsem-2019-000517. eCollection 2019.

Authors

Brad Stenner¹, Amber D Mosewich^{1

2}, Jonathan D Buckley¹, Elizabeth S Buckley³

Affiliations

¹ Alliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity (ARENA), University of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
² Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
³ University of South Australia Cancer Research Institute, University of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.

Abstract

Objective: To investigate associations between markers of health and playing golf in an Australian population.

Methods: Secondary analysis of data from the Australian National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey to compare selected health outcomes between golfers (n=128) and non-golfers (n=4999).

Results: Golfers were older than non-golfers (mean±SD 57.7±14.2 years, 48.5±17.6 years, p<0.05). A higher proportion of golfers were overweight or obese compared with non-golfers (76% vs 64%, p<0.05), and golfers were more likely to have been diagnosed with ischaemic heart disease (IHD) at some time in their life (OR 2.8, 95% CI 1.0 to 7.8). However, neither the risk of being overweight or obese (OR 1.4, 95% CI 0.9 to 2.2) or having been diagnosed with IHD (OR 2.1, 95% CI 0.8 to 5.8), were significant after controlling for age. Golfers were more physically active than non-golfers (8870±3810 steps/day vs 7320±3640 steps/day, p<0.05) and more likely to report high health-related quality of life (HRQoL) than non-golfers (OR 1.8; 95% CI 1.0 to 3.3), but not after adjusting for physical activity (OR 1.4, 95% CI 0.9 to 2.2).

Conclusion: Compared with non-golfers, golfers were more likely to be overweight or obese and to have been diagnosed with IHD, but not after adjusting for golfers being older. Golfers were more likely to report a higher HRQoL, but not after adjusting for golfers being more physically active. There may be an association between golfers being more physically active than non-golfers and reporting a higher HRQoL.

Keywords: exercise; golf; sport; well-being.