The impact of retirement on physical activity

Abstract

Most adults do not achieve the levels of physical activity currently recommended for a healthy lifestyle. Population surveys suggest that there is a linear decline of activity levels with age, yet physical activity has many health benefits for older adults. If these are to be more widely adopted among older people, health policy and promotion require an understanding of the factors that influence decreasing activity with age. This study examined the patterns of physical activity of 699 participants in the West of Scotland Twenty-07 Study who were aged 60 years when interviewed in 1991 and followed up four to five years later. It examined the factors that influenced whether or not the subjects achieved currently recommended levels of activity, by applying random effects models with a seasonal adjustment. It was found that higher levels of physical activity associated with a healthier lifestyle, and that socio-economic factors played a minor role in determining the level of physical activity. A substantial amount of physical activity occurred at work but was lost by those who had retired, for while those who were not working were more physically active at home or at leisure than those in work, the majority of the sample did too little physical activity outside work to compensate for the loss of work-based activity. One conclusion is that health promotion initiatives that encourage people to become more physically active should be targeted at those who are about to retire.

Retirement and leisure: a longitudinal study using Swedish data

“…The findings of some studies have shown that entering retirement increases engagement in leisure activities, and thus support activity theory (Iwasaki and Smale 1998;Janke et al 2006;Van den Bogaard et al 2013). However, the results of other studies have indicated that retirement does not increase engagement in leisure activities (Bosse and Ekerdt 1981;Rosenkoetter et al 2001;Talyor et al 2004;Agahi et al 2006;Berger et al 2005). The findings of still other studies have shown that engagement in leisure activities declines with increasing age, and thus support disengagement theory (Griffin and McKenna 1999).…”

Changes in Health and Health Behavior Associated With Retirement

“…This procedure is in line with research suggesting that the recommended 30 min or more of moderate intensity physical activity can be accumulated from various activities. Such an "active living" approach is considered particularly appropriate for older adults (Berger et al, 2005). Body mass index (BMI) was calculated from reports of both weight and height in the postal questionnaire, and the WHO criteria of underweight or normal weight (<25.0) versus overweight or obese (≥25.0) were used.…”

“…The majority of studies examining effects of retirement on physical activity indicate that the frequency and duration of outdoor activities such as walking and biking appear to increase when one quits work, or at least show a smaller reduction than to those who continue working (Berger, Der, Mutrie, & Hannah, 2005;Gallo, 2013;Sjosten et al, 2012;Solem, 2012). This is in line with the demand for health theory.…”

Stability and change in physical activity in old age: the role of changes in disability

“…They did not include a measure of disability but found that health status at baseline was related to both decline and improvement in physical activity. Berger et al (2005) analysed patterns of changes in physical activity in an older population using the most recent recommendations from American College of Sports Medicine, which suggest that ''all people over the age of 2 years should accumulate at least 30 min of endurance type physical activity, of at least moderate intensity, on most-preferably all-days of the week '' (Physical Activity and Health 1996;Pedersen and Saltin 2003). They found that changes in disability was the most important factor related to changes in physical activity.…”