Work

The Distribution of Sedentary Behavior Among Older U.s. Adults by Age and Gender: Identifying Risk

Year: 2017

Type: conference-abstract

Abstract: Background. Sedentary behavior is a risk factor for and marker of poor health, independent of activity participation. Older adults spend the majority of time sedentary making this behavior a critical target for successful aging. The purpose of this study is to provide older adult normative data for sedentary behavior by age and gender, identifying the least and most sedentary patterns for each group as a reference to gauge risk. Methods. We used hip accelerometry data from the nationally representative National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) sample from 2003–2006 to examine the distribution of average daily minutes of sedentary behavior among older U.S. adults. Sedentary behavior was defined as fewer than 100 counts per minute. The average number of minutes spent sedentary per day were calculated for the most sedentary quartile, the least sedentary quartile, and the middle quartiles for each age category (65–69, 70–74, 75–79, 80–85) by gender. Results. Sedentary behavior increased with age and was higher among men than women. The most sedentary quartiles for each age group (youngest-oldest) spent an average of 659–709 minutes and 620–694 minutes per day sedentary for men and women, respectively. The least sedentary quartiles for each age group (youngest to oldest) spent an average of 376–419 minutes and 326–396 minutes per day sedentary for men and women, respectively. Conclusions. Approximately 2–2.5 hours of sedentary time per day differentiated the most and least sedentary quartiles from the middle quartiles in each age/gender group. This reference can help identify individual risk relative to peers.

Source: Innovation in Aging

DOI: 10.1093/geroni/igx004.1454