Abstract
Purpose: Despite the potential for commercial activity devices to promote moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA), limited information is available in older adults, a high-priority target population with unique gait dynamics and energy expenditure. The study purpose was to investigate the content validity of the Garmin Vivosmart HR device for step counts and MVPA in adults ≥65 years of age in free-living conditions.Methods: Thirty-five participants (M age= 73.7 (6.3) years) wore Garmin and ActiGraph GT3X+ devices for a minimum of 2 days. Accuracy and intra-person reliability were tested against a hip worn ActiGraph device. Separate analyses were conducted using different accelerometer cut-off values to define MVPA, a population-based threshold (≥2,020 counts/minute) and a recommended threshold for older adults (≥1,013 counts/minute).Results: Overall, the Garmin device overestimated MVPA compared with the hip-worn ActiGraph. However, the difference was small using the lower, age-specific, MVPA cut-off value [median (IQR) daily minutes; 50(85) vs. 32(49), p = 0.35] in contrast to the normative standard (50(85) vs. 7(24), p < 0.001). Regardless of the MVPA cut-off, intraclass correlation showed poor reliability [ICC (95% CI); 0.16(-0.40, 0.55) to 0.35(−0.32, 0.7)] which was supported by Bland-Altman plots. Garmin step count was both accurate (M step difference: 178.0, p = 0.22) and reliable [ICC (95% CI; 0.94) (0.88, 0.97)].Conclusion: Results support the accuracy of a commercial activity device to measure MVPA in older adults but further research in diverse patient populations is needed to determine clinical utility and reliability over time.
Highlights
The percentage of individuals aged 65 years and older is estimated to increase from 9.3% in 2020 to 16.0% in 2050 (United Nations Department of Economic Social Affairs, 2020)
For the Garmin device, one participant had all data lost during download and another had missing intensity minutes
The results contribute to the limited knowledge of estimating Moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in older adults with consumer activity devices
Summary
Despite the increase in longevity, there remains a gap in healthspan, translating to high comorbidity and disability in later years of life which could be improved by lifestyle factors (Queen et al, 2020). Physical activity is essential for healthy aging, preventing and improving chronic illness and enabling independent living. Moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) is advocated for older adults (Chodzko-Zajko et al, 2009), age-specific factors need to be considered (Zaleski et al, 2016). Adherence to the recommended 150 to 300 min of weekly MVPA is low among older adults (Watson et al, 2016). Feasible strategies to increase physical activity, especially MVPA, are needed in older adults
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