Abstract
Despite its well-known health benefits, most older adults do not commit to undertaking sufficient physical activity (PA). In this study we aimed to examine the perceived benefits of and barriers and enablers to PA from the perspectives of older Caucasian and Chinese adults living in Australia. Individual and group interviews with 17 Caucasian (mean age: 72.8 years) and 47 Chinese adults (mean age: 74.0 years) were conducted and analysed using thematic analysis. Overall, participants knew about the benefits of PA on physical health but had inconsistent views on its benefits on mental and cognitive health. Older Caucasian and Chinese adults reported similar barriers (e.g., health issues, costs, bad weather and lack of time) and enablers (e.g., improving health; environmental enablers such as adequate and walkable spaces and good natural environment; peer support; and self-motivation) to PA. In comparison, older Chinese adults reported barriers more often, and reported some unique barriers relating to language and culture issues. The findings contribute to developing targeted PA programs for older Caucasian and Chinese adults.
Highlights
Physical inactivity is one of the top ten risk factors for disease burden and contributes to 9% of all deaths [1]
The findings showed that common barriers to physical activity (PA) in older Caucasians and older ethnic minority groups were health issues, fear of falls and inconvenience, while common enablers included positive outcome expectations, health benefits, social support and access to PA programs
We provided each participant with a plain language statement, project flyer and consent form written in English
Summary
Physical inactivity is one of the top ten risk factors for disease burden and contributes to 9% of all deaths [1]. Evidence suggests that physical activity (PA) is associated with physical, psychological and cognitive benefits across the life span, including older age [1,2,3,4]. The majority of older adults do not engage in recommended levels of PA [1]. Older adults tend to undertake less PA with advancing age [5]. Australian data show that 75% of Australians aged 65 years and older are insufficiently active (
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