Abstract
Sedentary behavior is a cluster of behaviors adopted in a sitting or lying posture where little energy is being expended. Sedentary behavior is a risk factor for health independent to inactivity. Currently, there are no published systematic reviews on the prevalence of sedentary behavior objectively measured in, or subjectively reported by, older adults. The aim of this systematic review was to collect and analyze published literature relating to reported prevalence of sedentary behavior, written in English, on human adults, where subjects aged 60 years and over were represented in the study. 23 reports covered data from 18 surveys sourced from seven countries. It was noted that sedentary behavior is defined in different ways by each survey. The majority of surveys included used self-report as a measurement of sedentary behavior. Objective measurements were also captured with the use of body worn accelerometers. Whether measurements are subjective or objective, the majority of older adults are sedentary. Almost 60% of older adult’s reported sitting for more than 4 h per day, 65% sit in front of a screen for more than 3 h daily and over 55% report watching more than 2 h of TV. However, when measured objectively in a small survey, it was found that 67% of the older population were sedentary for more than 8.5 h daily.
Highlights
It is well known that physical activity (PA) is an influencing factor for healthy aging and lack of PA has been associated with chronic disease [1]
The title review excluded 1,864 papers, the abstract review excluded 113 and the full text excluded 82, leaving 19 papers to be included for the study
At the stage of reviewing the full texts, where it was felt that additional information was needed about a particular study, the author was contacted once by e-mail requesting further information
Summary
It is well known that physical activity (PA) is an influencing factor for healthy aging and lack of PA has been associated with chronic disease [1]. The amount of time spent being sedentary is an important risk factor associated with several aspects of ill health, including overweight and obesity and associated metabolic diseases [5]. Both SB and PA are important factors to consider in the health of older adults. Further work is required in this area with regard to cause of these outcomes and potential confounding factors. At this stage it is important to define the current level of SB to allow for the size of the issue to be identified
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