Prevalence of Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior Patterns in Generally Healthy European Adults Aged 70 Years and Older-Baseline Results From the DO-HEALTH Clinical Trial

BackgroundPhysical activity (PA) is important for healthy aging and disease prevention whereas sedentary behavior (SB) accelerates health deterioration. AimTo investigate activity profiles regarding PA and SB among generally healthy European older adults. MethodsMeeting PA recommendations was defined as >= 150 min/week of moderate and/or >= 75 min/week of vigorous PA. A cut-off of >= 5.5 h/day was used to define time spent with SB. We present prevalence of PA and SB overall and by sex, age, BMI, and country. We examined correlates with multivariate logistic regression models. ResultsTwo thousand one hundred and fifty-five DO-HEALTH participants completed baseline information on activity profiles [mean age 74.9 years (SD 4.5), 61.8% women]. Overall, 62.2% met PA recommendations and overall, 37.1% spent >= 5.5 h/day with SB. Younger participants (70-74 years), men, and those with BMI <25 kg/m(2) met PA recommendations more often. Per country, prevalence of meeting PA recommendations were: Austria 74.4%, France 51.0%, Germany 65.6%, Portugal 46.5%, and Switzerland 66.7%. Regarding SB, prevalence did not differ in all subgroups. In multivariate logistic regression analyses, being male, younger age, lower MoCA scores, and higher SPPB score were associated with greater odds, whereas higher BMI, more years of education, higher GDS score, and residing in Portugal were associated with lower odds of meeting PA recommendations. High BMI and higher MoCA scores were associated with greater odds of high SB. ConclusionIndividualized public health efforts may be warranted even in active older adults, as profiles were less favorable in subgroups of older age, female sex and higher BMI.

Automated summary

The study investigated activity profiles regarding physical activity and sedentary behavior among generally healthy European older adults. It found that some older adults did not meet physical activity recommendations and spent a long time in sedentary behavior. Male, younger age, and lower BMI individuals were more likely to meet the physical activity recommendations, while higher BMI and higher cognitive function scores were associated with more sedentary behavior.