Social Distancing During The Covid-19 Pandemic And Physical Activity In Older Women - An Accelerometer-based Analysis

Abstract

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends at least 30 minutes of MVPA per day for older adults to reduce the risk of hypertension and coronary heart disease. Older women with an increased cardiovascular risk may particularly benefit from physical activity, but social distancing measures may limit their opportunities to be physically active. Little is known about their physical activity (PA) behavior under varying social distancing responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. PURPOSE: The present study aimed to objectively assess the prevalence of PA in older women with an increased cardiovascular risk in Germany during two stages of social distancing measures. METHODS: The PA behavior of a non-representative sample of women aged 60 years and older living in North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany, was assessed twice using three-dimensional accelerometers worn at the hip for 10 days, at least 10 hours per day. Assessments were first performed between August and November 2020 in the context of light social distancing measures, and then repeated after 3-5 months starting from December 2020, when stricter social distancing policies were in place. Energy expenditure and time spent in MVPA was calculated from raw counts using the Freedson equation and cut-offs. SUMMARY OF RESULTS: A preliminary analysis of the data of n = 109 older women (68.8 ± 7.0 years) with mostly light cardiovascular risk showed an activity-induced energy expenditure of 304 ± 181 kcal/day, and a MET-rate of 1.20 ± 0.15 during light social distancing. Participants accumulated 44 ± 32 minutes of MVPA per day, with 68% surpassing 30 min of MVPA/day. CONCLUSION: First results indicate that despite light social distancing restrictions, a surprisingly high proportion of our sample of women aged 60 years and older reached WHO recommendations. It remains to be seen from the data collected between December 2020 and February 2021 if the participants were able to maintain their physical activity level during stricter social distancing policies.