Correlates of change in accelerometer-assessed total sedentary time and prolonged sedentary bouts among older English adults: results from five-year follow-up in the EPIC-Norfolk cohort

Abstract

INTRODUCTION Excess sedentary time increases adults' risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, poor physical function, poor quality of life, and premature mortality. [1-3] Time accrued in prolonged sedentary bouts is thought to be particularly harmful. [4-6] Describing changes in sedentary time and their correlates will clarify whether older adults have the capacity to change and, if so, to what extent. [7] It will also enable deeper understanding of patterns and correlates of sedentary time, which facilitates greater specificity in intervention development. Despite sedentary time occurring in complex behavioural settings, research on correlates has not reflected this complexity [8].

Individual Barriers to an Active Lifestyle at Older Ages Among Whitehall II Study Participants After 20 Years of Follow-up

“…h BMI categories were defined as less than 25 for reference range, 25 to 29.9 for overweight, and 30 or more for obese. .17 separately finding that men spent more time sedentary 17,24 and in MVPA 14,22 than women, who undertook more LIPA. 30 Accounting for the full activity intensity distribution and time in different activity levels allowed us to gain a comprehensive understanding of time reallocation among subgroups of factors.…”

“…Previous studies on factors associated with physical activity or sedentary behavior in older age have mainly focused on age, sex, socioeconomic markers, smoking, BMI, and self-reported health, with health often assessed using a single-item question. In these studies, factors most consistently associated with decreased total physical activity were older age, 14,17,18,21,23,24,30 increased BMI, 14,17,18,[20][21][22][23][24]30 and poorer self-reported health. 14,15,[20][21][22] Some studies have also reported an association of poor physical functioning 16,23 or chronic conditions 15,18,19,23 with total physical activity or time in activity levels.…”

“…Most previous studies on factors associated with physical activity and sedentary behavior in older adults were cross-sectional. 11 Notable prospective studies [18][19][20]22,24,30 mainly focused on a specific rather than a holistic list of factors. Some of these studies, like ours, found an association between being more physically active earlier in life and at older age, 18,20,22 suggesting that in midlife, individuals are already in distinct tracks of physical activity that remain over the life course.…”

“…11 However, evidence on factors associated with accelerometer-assessed activity levels in older adults is hampered by at least 1 of the following limitations: cross-sectional design, [14][15][16][17] small sample size, [18][19][20] or emphasis on a few factors, ignoring the complexity of individual-level barriers to an active lifestyle. 11 Apart from a few cross-sectional studies describing the entire distribution of activity intensity in older adults by sex, age, or employment status, [21][22][23] most studies have examined factors associated with total physical activity, time in sedentary behavior, or MVPA, 18,19,24 ignoring their codependency. Accordingly, we examined cross-sectional and prospective associations of sociodemographic, behavioral, and health-related factors with accelerometer-assessed activity intensity distribution and time in different activity levels in older adults.…”

Correlates of Objectively Measured Sitting Time in South Korean Adults: 2014–2015 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

“…Further, in a cross-sectional study of 205 Danish blue-collar workers, Gupta et al ( 29 ) found that BMI was negatively associated with short-term sitting (<5 min) and positively associated with long-term sitting (>30 min). In a longitudinal study of 1,536 older English adults, Yerrakalva et al ( 30 ) reported that higher BMI, more television viewing, and less physical activity were associated with a higher number of prolonged sedentary periods (fewer breaks from sitting).…”