Study suggests nonagenarians are mostly sedentary, with low physical activity

Nonagenarians are mostly sedentary and report low physical activity, according to a study published online Dec. 6 in PLOS ONE.

Sari Aaltonen, Ph.D., from the University of Helsinki, and colleagues examined how accelerometer characteristics associate with self-reported physical activity, anthropometric, sociodemographic, health, and cognitive characteristics in a population-based cohort study involving 38 nonagenarians.

On average, participants took 2,931 steps and had 11 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and 13.6 hours of sedentary time per day. Physical activity bouts less than three minutes/day and sedentary bouts of 20 to 60 minutes/day were observed most often.

The researchers identified positive correlations for many accelerometer-measured and self-reported physical activity characteristics. Associations were seen for low levels of many accelerometer-measured physical activity characteristics with low education, dizziness, and fear of falling. There was also an association seen for fear of falling with accelerometer-measured sedentary behavior characteristics.

"A clinically important finding was that most of the accelerometer-measured physical activity characteristics correlated significantly with self-reported physical activity, indicating a good usability for many self-reported items in everyday settings," the authors write.

"Larger studies, including longitudinal aspects as well, can help in understanding the antecedents and underpinnings of both physical and mental health in this fast-growing understudied population segment."