Daily sedentary time and physical activity as assessed by accelerometry and their correlates in older adults

Adriana J Van Ballegooijen,Marjolein Visser,Hidde P Van Der Ploeg

doi:10.1186/s11556-019-0210-9

Adriana J Van Ballegooijen, Marjolein Visser + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s11556-019-0210-9

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Abstract

BackgroundHigher physical activity is associated with lower chronic disease risk among older adults. However, less is known about the optimal balance between daily physical activity and sedentary time and their correlates among older adults. We described objectively measured physical activity patterns using 7 day hip-accelerometry and assessed its correlates in a large cross-sectional sample of the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam, a population-based cohort of older Dutch adults. In addition, we examined different combined profiles of sedentary time and physical activity across strata of sex, age, education and BMI groups.ResultsMean age was 71 (SD 8) years and 51% (n = 615) were women. The majority of wear time was spent sedentary (65%) followed by light (33%), and MVPA (2%). Higher age and higher BMI were related to more time spent sedentary, while female sex and lower education were related lower sedentary time. The combination of high sedentary time (≥65.4% of waking time) and low physical activity (< 9.1% of waking time) was significantly associated with higher age, higher BMI, and slower walking speed compared to the combination of low sedentary time and high physical activity P < 0.001.ConclusionsDutch older adults spend on average 65% of their waking time sedentary. Older adults’ sedentary time differs by age, sex, education and BMI groups. The combination of high sedentary time and low physical was associated with higher age, higher BMI, and slower walking speed compared to the combination of low sedentary time and high MVPA. This suggests that increasing light activity might be an effective and feasible strategy in older persons to reduce sedentary time. Future studies should assess whether low- sedentary and high-light physical activity are associated with improved long-term health outcomes (also independent of MVPA).

Highlights

Physical activity in old age is a key factor in maintaining physical functioning and to reduce the risk of age-related diseases [1,2,3,4]
The joint associations of high sedentary time and low physical activity were associated with higher age, higher Body mass index (BMI), and slower walking speed compared to the combination of low sedentary time and high moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA)
Which is another important reason why we looked at light intensity activity in more detail by splitting it into two groups. This increased focus on sedentary time and light intensity physical activity, next to MVPA, might be important to develop more effective guidelines, especially for older adults [15]. This study investigated both correlates of various physical activity intensities and joint combinations of different sedentary time and physical activity profiles across strata of sex, age, education and BMI groups

Summary

Introduction

Physical activity in old age is a key factor in maintaining physical functioning and to reduce the risk of age-related diseases [1,2,3,4]. To the health benefits of MVPA, accumulating evidence suggests that light-intensity physical activity is related to numerous health benefits such as improved obesity markers, glucose control and survival [13, 14]. This would suggest that inactive adults should be Ballegooijen et al European Review of Aging and Physical Activity (2019) 16:3 encouraged to reduce sedentary behavior and engage in any intensity of physical activity. Less is known about the optimal balance between daily physical activity and sedentary time and their correlates among older adults. We examined different combined profiles of sedentary time and physical activity across strata of sex, age, education and BMI groups

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