PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND DEMENTIA PREVENTION: THE ROLE OF HEALTH COGNITIONS AMONG 50+ HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS IN ISRAEL

Abstract

Abstract Background Although dementia cannot be cured, it can be prevented by adopting various health behaviors, including regular physical activity. The current study sought to i) estimate the participation of Israel-born healthy individuals aged 50 years or older in regular physical activity; ii) assess the associations linking Health Belief Model variables (Rosenstock, 1966, 1974) and engagement in regular physical activity. Method This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2021-2022, using online convenience sampling. The study included 328 Israel-born participants aged 50 years or older. Physical activity was assessed by asking whether participants regularly engaged in physical activity (type of activities/times per week/minutes). Cognitive perceptions were assessed using the Motivation to Change Lifestyle and Health Behaviors for Dementia Risk Reduction questionnaire (Kim et al., 2014). Results The average weekly minutes of physical activity was 165.62 (S.D. 176.17), whereas only 43.6% performed 150 minutes of physical activity weekly. A multivariate linear regression indicated that among all of the model’s variables, perceived severity (β=-.204, p<.001), cues to action (β=.134, p<.001), feminine gender (β=-.155, p<.01), and low income (β=-.113,p<.05) emerged as significant predictors of weekly minutes of physical activity. The model explained 14.2% of the variance in the performance of weekly minutes of physical activity [F(7,320)=12.22, p<.001]. Conclusions The current research underlines the role of health cognitions (perceived severity, barriers, and cues for action) regarding engagement in physical activity. The results of the current study might serve as a basis for intervention programs among various target populations.