Abstract
In affluent countries habitual physical activity (PA) levels are low while participation of middle-aged people in road running events is increasing. We compared PA determinants of runners aged 50+ to those of a general population sample of similar age in Switzerland. Cross-sectional study comparing 580 road running event participants to 1,067 general population subjects. Binary logistic regression was used to predict group membership and multinomial logistic regression to describe relationships between regular PA levels, health and socio-economic status, adjusted for age, marital status and sex. There was better health status, higher socio-economic position, less obesity and less depression in the runners than in the general population. People in self-reported "poor / very poor" and "good" health categories were less likely than the "excellent/very good" category to engage in vigorous regular PA compared to moderate regular PA. Our findings confirm the association of PA with better health and higher socio-economic status in people aged 50+ but do not allow conclusions on causality. Further research and managerial effort should be expanded to develop programmes for the inactive population. New and existing prevention programmes should be undertaken to increase the awareness of target audiences. Popular road running events should be seen as having important public health potential and should be fostered.
Highlights
In affluent countries habitual physical activity (PA) levels are low while participation of middle-aged people in road running events is increasing
To what is observed in other affluent societies, physical activity levels decrease with age and more than one-third of the Swiss population aged 50+ is insufficiently physically active [12], a finding which comes with an important burden of inactivity induced morbidity and mortality [13]
The results showed significant changes in the estimated coefficients of normal Body mass index (BMI) (18.5–24.9) and all categories of health status, which became statistically significant compared to the reference categories
Summary
In affluent countries habitual physical activity (PA) levels are low while participation of middle-aged people in road running events is increasing. METHOD: Cross-sectional study comparing 580 road running event participants to 1,067 general population subjects. RESULTS: There was better health status, higher socio-economic position, less obesity and less depression in the runners than in the general population. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings confirm the association of PA with better health and higher socio-economic status in people aged 50+ but do not allow conclusions on [...]. There is paucity of Swiss studies comparing determinants of health in physically active people with those of the general population aged 50+. We set out to compare characteristics of participants aged 50+ in the biggest road running event in Switzerland with those of the general population of the
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
