UCLA

Objective

Global recommendations on physical activity for noncommunicable disease prevention can be promoted using partner support strategies among women of Mexican descent and other ethnicities.

Design/methods

This systematic review utilized a multifaceted ecological approach by focusing comprehensively on community, individual, and social factors influencing physical activity. PubMed, SAGE Publications, EBSCO, ResearchGate, the Cochrane Library and Google Scholar search engines were used to find research on physical activity, with inclusion criteria of Mexican American women, aged ≥ 18 years, comprising at least 50% of study population sizes.

Main outcome measures

An initial search of 232 articles with subsequent searches from reference lists led to selection of a mixture of qualitative (3), mixed methods (3), and intervention (1) studies reporting partner support for physical activity as perceived by women.

Results

Primarily, studies have conceptualized physical activity as leisure time activities. Few studies have considered multiple ecological factors in examining influences of physical activity among women. Importantly, how women perceive support for physical activity received from partners has been shown to influence their levels of activity.

Conclusions

Conceptualization of physical activity restricted only to leisure time eliminates other domains that a broader definition of the term encompasses. Future studies are needed to investigate partner support influences on the overall physical activity of Mexican American women within a larger ecological context. Careful attention to partner support for physical activity engagement can help ameliorate and prevent chronic diseases both nationally and around the world.