Do weather changes influence physical activity level among older adults? – The Generation 100 study

Abstract

IntroductionUnderstanding how individual and environmental factors impact physical activity (PA) level is important when building strategies to improve PA of older adults. No studies have examined how hour-to-hour weather changes influence PA in older adults or how the association between weather and PA eventually is related to cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) measured as peak oxygen uptake. The aim of this study was therefore to examine how hour-to-hour changes in weather effects hour-to-hour PA in a cohort of Norwegian older adults across CRF levels, gender and seasons.MethodsPA was assessed objectively in 1219 older adults (70–77 years, 51% females) using the Actigraph GT3X+ accelerometer, and quantified as counts·min-1 (CPM). Weather (Norwegian meteorological Institute) and CRF (MetaMax II) were measured objectively. Panel data analysis added a longitudinal dimension when 110.888 hours of weather- and PA data were analyzed.ResultsOlder adults had a higher PA level in warmer (597 CPM) than colder months (556 CPM) (p<0.01). Fixed effects regression-models revealed that increasing temperatures (per hour) influenced PA positively in both colder and warmer months (all, p<0.01), with greater influence in fitter vs. less fit participants (p<0.01). In warmer months, increasing precipitation negatively influenced PA in both unfit females and unfit males (p<0.01). In colder months, increasing precipitation positively influenced PA for moderately fit to fit males (p<0.01), but not for females and unfit males.ConclusionTo the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the association between weather conditions and objectively-measured-PA among Norwegian older adults. Our findings demonstrates that unfit older adults will be less likely to participate in PA when the weather is unpleasant, compared to those highly fit. The data suggests that the impact of weather should not be ignored when planning public health strategies for increasing PA among older adults.

Accelerometer-assessed outdoor physical activity is associated with meteorological conditions among older adults: Cross-sectional results from the OUTDOOR ACTIVE study

“…This study showed a positive association between the amount of total PA and temperature in women but not in men. This is in contrast to the study results of Aspvik et al in Norway and Klenk et al in Germany, as they reported statistically significant associations for women and men [9,14]. Other studies found a positive association between PA and temperature as well.…”

“…The reported negative association of PA and wind in men is in line with the results of Klenk et al Their analyses, however, also indicated a reduction in PA with increasing wind in women [9]. In contrast, Aspvik et al found a statistically significant positive association of PA and wind in women but not in men [14].…”

“…Previous research indicates that there are statistically significant associations between accelerometer-assessed PA and different meteorological variables among older adults. Several studies showed a statistically significant increase in PA with rising temperature [9,[11][12][13][14], decreasing precipitation [9,13,15,16], and longer days [11,13,17]. There is inconsistent evidence regarding the association between PA and wind speed [9,14].…”

Seasonal Variation in Physical Activity among Preoperative Patients with Lung Cancer Determined Using a Wearable Device

“…However, seasons are a crude measure when it comes to understanding the effects of weather on PA [36]. Previous studies have observed the effects of several factors related to the season on daily activities.…”

Explaining the Inverse Association between Altitude and Obesity

“…Some factors may indirectly influence body weight by their association with variables such as physical activity and diet. For example, extreme temperatures, particulate matter in the air, high precipitation, lower altitude living, urban residency, and poverty have each been associated with lower levels of physical activity [1][2][3][4][5][6]. Different levels of these factors may explain the large amount of variability of obesity that exists in adults across the United States [6].…”