Does Participation In An Exercise Program Increase Physical Activity On Non-Exercise Days?

Abstract

Even though increased physical activity is well correlated with improvement in comorbidities among older adults, most older adults do not meet the recommended guidelines for physical activity. One of the ways that healthcare professionals have tried to increase physical activity is by implementing exercise programs using interactive exergames. Although these types of exercise programs have been shown to increase physical activity among older adults, research is lacking on the effects of exercise programs on non-program days. PURPOSE: To examine differences in the physical activity levels of older adults participating in a facility-based program, on intervention vs. non-intervention days. METHODS: Older veterans (N = 30, 87% male, 68.0 ± 6.7 years) were randomized to either a physical activity intervention (Wii Fit video games) or a control cognitive activity (Brain-Fitness computer games). Both groups participated in the facility-based program for 45-minute sessions, 3 days a week for 8 weeks. Actigraph data were collected for one week prior to starting the sessions and at four weeks. RESULTS: Among all participants who completed the study (N = 26), there was significant (p ≤ 0.05) improvement on days of facility-based participation versus off-days in average active Kcal expended (534.29 ± 303.18 vs. 456.26 ± 274.36), MET level (1.38 ± 0.13 vs. 1.33 ± 0.12), and step count (5848.93 ± 3757.53 vs. 4723.93 ± 3181.64) regardless of intervention assignment. Compared to the baseline, there was also significant improvement regardless of intervention assignment in participant step count on intervention days (4715.80 ± 2745.20 vs. 5848.93 ± 3757.53, p ≤ 0.05) but this improvement was not seen on the off-days. Additionally, regardless of intervention assignment there was a significant reduction in the total time spent per day in sedentary bouts on intervention days compared to off-days (217.32 ± 100.85 vs. 244.46 ± 103.70, p ≤ 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This pilot study indicates that structured facility-based programs increase physical activity in older adults on intervention days but that additional research is needed to develop programs that lead to improved physical activity outside of facility-based interventions. Supported by SCVAHCN Network research grant program by the Department of Veterans Affairs