Objective assessment of physical activity patterns based on accelerometer and GPS data in adults

Abstract

There is evidence that regular physical activity (PA) is associated with lower risk of non-communicable diseases, increased health status and the overall quality of life. Therefore, it is important to understand key factors that can influence PA levels and behaviours. There are several studies that investigated the determinants of PA in adults, however, they did not include environmental, behavioural, and sociodemographic factors to determine objectively measured PA behaviour. The aim of this study was to assess the association between objectively measured PA intensity of walking and sociodemographic, environmental and behavioural factors and investigate the most significant factors associated with the intensity of walking. The study included 125 randomly selected participants in Kaunas, Lithuania. Participants filled out a formalized questionnaire about sociodemographic, health-related, behavioural, and environmental factors. The intensity of PA of walking was measured using accelerometer and GPS (Global Positioning System) sensors. The results showed that the highest intensity of PA was found among the youngest age group, women, adults with normal weight and those with the lowest prevalence of chronic diseases including hypertension. In the multivariate regression models, age, noise level, and walking time remained significant covariates of the intensity of PA. Our study adds evidence on the separate and combined effects of sociodemographic, environmental, and behavioural factors on the intensity of PA during walking among adults in an urban environment using GPS and accelerometer sensors. Future studies should focus on additional factors influencing PA intensity that were not investigated in this study and explore other PAs.