Does retirement mean more physical activity? A longitudinal study

Abstract

BackgroundEvidence on physical activity (PA) and transitions out of full-time employment in middle-to-older age is mainly cross-sectional and focused upon retirement. The purpose was to examine trajectories in PA before and after transitions out of full-time employment.MethodsData were obtained for 5,754 people in full-time employment aged 50–75 from the US Health and Retirement Survey. Logistic regression was used to examine trajectories in twice-weekly participation in light, moderate and vigorous PA among those transitioning to part-time work, semi-retirement, full retirement, or economic inactivity due to disability, in comparison to those remaining in full-time employment.ResultsTwice weekly participation in vigorous and light physical activity changed little for those who remained in full-time employment, while moderate physical activity decreased between baseline and follow-up (OR 0.95, 95 % CI 0.91, 0.99). Differences in physical activity according to transitional categories at follow-up were evident. Baseline differences in physical activity across all intensities were greatest among participants transitioning from full-time to part-time employment compared to those who remained in full-time employment throughout the study period (vigorous OR 1.41 95 % CI 1.23, 1.61; moderate OR 1.28 95 % CI 1.12, 1.46; light OR 1.29 95 % CI 1.12, 1.49). Those transitioning to unemployment were already among the least physically active at baseline, irrespective of intensity (albeit, with 95 % CIs spanning unity). Those transitioning to full-time retirement were also among the least active (e.g. vigorous OR 0.71 95 % CI 0.61, 0.81; moderate OR 0.80 95 % CI 0.71, 0.90). Declines in physical activity were reported for those transitioning to economic inactivity due to a disability (vigorous OR 0.29 95 % CI 0.14, 0.64; moderate OR 0.56 95 % CI 0.33, 0.95; light OR 0.34 95 % CI 0.19, 0.63). Physical activity increased regardless of intensity among participants transitioning to semi-retirement (p > 0.05) and full retirement (e.g. vigorous OR 1.28 95 % CI 1.09, 1.51; moderate OR 1.24 95 % CI 1.07, 1.43). Light physical activity increased for those transitioning to unemployment (OR 1.40 95 % CI 1.02, 1.93), though less change was evident in moderate or vigorous physical activity.ConclusionsThe amount and intensity of PA varies by the type of transition out of full-time employment among people in middle-to-older age.

The impact of life events and transitions on physical activity: A scoping review

“…With regard to the type of retirement, findings were heterogeneous. Transitioning to fulltime and voluntary retirement was linked to increased PA levels [89,90], whereas transitioning to economic inactivity due to disability led to decreases [89,105]. For the latter, however, one study reported declines in women only, whereas men increased their PA [96].…”

Association of regular physical activity with total and cause-specific mortality among middle-aged and older Chinese: a prospective cohort study

“…reported that the amount of exercise and leisure-time physical activity increases after the retirement transition19. Similarly, a recent longitudinal study has confirmed this and observed that the amount and intensity of physical activity could change by the type of transition out of full-time employment among middle-aged and older adults20. All participants enrolled in this study were retired workers, who have no occupational physical activity and may spend more time on regular non-occupational physical activity, gaining more mortality benefits from physical activity than those in other studies.…”

Physical Activity And Sedentary Behavior During The Retirement Transition

“…A systematic review identified 19 articles published through July 2010 [19]. Thirteen additional articles were published since this review [22,32,36,70,[83][84][85][86][87][88][89][90][91] (Table 2). Most of these 32 articles evaluated self-reported leisure-time physical activity among adults who retired during follow-up compared to those who continued working.…”

“…Existing studies often used single-item summary measures of physical activity and excluded occupational physical activity, which has contributed to discrepant findings across studies. In addition, behavior change at retirement may vary by socioeconomic position (SEP) because disadvantaged adults are more likely to retire due to ill health or job loss rather than voluntarily [20][21][22].…”