Time change in the distribution of physical activity and its correlates among retired older Swedish adults: a repeated cross-sectional study from a national survey

Abstract

Background Understanding how older adults spend time in moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA) is crucial to understanding healthy ageing. This study connects 24-h time-use diary records of the daily activities of a sample of Swedish older adults to energy intensities. The aim was to: i) estimate the prevalence of Swedish older adults (aged 65–84 years) who achieved recommended daily levels of physical activity; ii) identify what domains of everyday life contribute to MVPA; and iii) explore socio-demographic factors affecting rates of active living. Methods We draw on two Swedish nationally representative samples of time-use diary data from 2000/2001 and 2010/2011. Data covering the duration of all activities performed over two days were combined with activity-intensity information (metabolic equivalent of task [MET] values) to estimate the energy expenditure (MET min) originating from MVPA. Results Results indicate that 94.1% of Swedish older adults achieved the WHO-recommended minimum level of daily MVPA in 2010/2011; the share remained unchanged over the period. MVPA performed in natural environments (24.2%), during housework (22.8%), and on everyday walks in one’s local area (18.1%) were dominant domains contributing to energy expenditure. Home maintenance and repairs (8.8%), active transport (9.9%), and physical exercise (8.2%) contributed to a lesser extent. In 2000/2001, total MVPA energy expenditure was associated with gender, housing, living region, and disability; in 2010/2011, except for disability, these associations were no longer significant. Conclusions The high proportion of older adults who achieved the recommended level of MVPA, their allocation of MVPA time to diverse domains, and the reduced social distribution over time suggest that elderly people increasingly find their own paths to everyday physical activity. This indicates a need to promote MVPA not only in established ways, such as prescribed training programmes. The importance of active physical activities in natural environments, and of regular walks in the vicinity of home, indicates a need to incorporate healthy ageing considerations in wider urban and regional planning, for example, to increase access to natural environments and urban walkability. Also, older adults’ involvement in household chores, maintenance and repairs, and active transport extends responsibility to new policy areas.

Time Use, Health, and Well-Being across the Life Cycle: A Gender Analysis

“…The greater amount of time spent exercising by men compared to women was also found in all occupational categories, although the effect size of the differences depended on the occupational category, which was maximized among students and also statistically significant among people with non-manual occupations and minimized among women and men with manual occupations. Other studies have also found that men spend more time exercising than women and that exercise is associated with younger age (Coen et al 2018;Forte et al 2023;Milanović et al 2013;Oliveira-Brochado et al 2017;Vilhelmson et al 2022). More physical exercise was associated with better self-reported health, fewer somatic symptoms, and greater well-being for both women and men.…”

Acute Achilles tendon ruptures between 2002–2021: sustained increased incidence, surgical decline and prolonged delay to surgery—a nationwide study of 53 688 ruptures in Sweden

“…The observed long-term rise in the ATR incidence rate is presumably related to increased participation in sports or recreational activities among women and people at older ages, 28 30 evidenced by the higher incidence in women (58% vs 40% in men) and the shift in median injury age from 44 to 50 years. This observation is further substantiated by the fact that in 2002, the highest incidence was observed among patients aged 30–49 years, while by 2021, patients aged 40–80 years presented the highest increase and similar ATR incidence rates ( figure 2 ).…”