Table 1.

Age-standardized^a baseline characteristics by frequency of vigorous physical activity, 1995–1996, NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study.

	Frequency of vigorous physical activityb, times per week
	0	<1	1–2	3–4	5+
Subjects
N	93,536	69,574	109,851	136,171	98,765
Age at baseline (yrs), mean ± standard deviation	62 ± 5	61 ± 5	62 ± 5	62 ± 5	62 ± 5
Sex, percent
Men	51	59	62	63	67
Women	49	41	38	37	33
Marital status, percent
Married or living as married	62	68	70	72	73
Not married	38	32	30	28	27
Education, percent
12 years or less	40	29	26	25	26
College graduate/vocational training	48	53	54	53	51
Postgraduate	12	18	20	22	23
Ethnicity, percent
Caucasian	89	92	92	92	92
Non-Caucasian	9	7	7	7	7
BMI (kg/m2), mean ± standard deviation	28.5 ± 6.3	27.8 ± 5.2	27.2 ± 4.8	26.5 ± 4.5	26.0 ± 4.2
Alcohol (g/day), percent
0.0	32	23	22	22	24
0.1–14.9	50	56	56	56	52
15.0–29.9	7	10	11	12	12
30.0–59.9	5	6	6	6	7
60+	5	5	5	4	5
Smoking status, percent
Never	32	34	36	36	36
Past	45	48	48	51	52
Current	19	15	12	9	8
Use of dietary supplements, percent
Multivitamins	49	53	55	58	58
Total coffee intake (cups per day), percent
0	11	10	10	10	12
<1	33	32	32	33	33
2–3	38	41	42	42	40
4+	17	17	16	15	16

^aUsing direct standardization to the baseline age distribution of the cohort.

^bVigorous physical activity was defined as 20 minutes or more of exercise that was sufficient to increase breathing, increase heart rate, or work up a sweat.