When Adults Don’t Exercise: Behavioral Strategies to Increase Physical Activity in Sedentary Middle-Aged and Older Adults

Abstract

Physical activity is one of the most promising nonpharmacological, noninvasive, and cost-effective methods of health-promotion, yet statistics show that only a small percentage of middle-aged and older adults engage in the recommended amount of regular exercise. This state of affairs is less likely due to a lack of knowledge about the benefits of exercise than to failures of motivation and self-regulatory mechanisms. Many types of intervention programs target exercise in later life, but they typically do not achieve sustained behavior change, and there has been very little increase in the exercise rate in the population over the last decade. The goal of this paper is to consider the use of effective low-cost motivational and behavioral strategies for increasing physical activity, which could have far-reaching benefits at the individual and population levels. We present a multicomponent framework to guide development of behavior change interventions to increase and maintain physical activity among sedentary adults and others at risk for health problems. This involves a personalized approach to motivation and behavior change, which includes social support, goal setting, and positive affect coupled with cognitive restructuring of negative and self-defeating attitudes and misconceptions. These strategies can lead to increases in exercise self-efficacy and control beliefs as well as self- management skills such as self-regulation and action planning, which in turn are expected to lead to long-term increases in activity. These changes in activity frequency and intensity can ultimately lead to improvements in physical and psychological well-being among middle-aged and older adults, including those from underserved, vulnerable populations. Even a modest increase in physical activity can have a significant impact on health and quality of life. Recommendations for future interventions include a focus on ways to achieve personalized approaches, broad outreach, and maintenance of behavior changes.

Environmental Factors Associated with Chinese Older Immigrants' Social Engagement

“…The findings of this study are consistent with previous research indicating that social support from family and friends is positively related to older adults' participation in physical exercise . Access to social support can lead to an increase in self‐efficacy, empowerment, self‐management skills, and positive emotions, which can, in turn, motivate older adults to engage in health‐promoting behaviors . Sense of community is also positively related to more engagement in social activities, which is consistent with previous studies .…”

Factors Associated With Improving or Worsening the State of Frailty: A Secondary Data Analysis of a 5‐Year Longitudinal Study

“…Increasing physical activity for improving the frailty state is a very promising and well‐studied approach. However, many types of intervention programs aimed at increasing physical activity levels in later life did not lead to sustained changes in behavior (Lachman, Lipsitz, Lubben, Castaneda‐Sceppa, & Jette, 2018). Nurses play an important role in promoting physical activity levels by providing personalized advice.…”

“…Nurses play an important role in promoting physical activity levels by providing personalized advice. A personalized approach that includes social support, goal setting, and positivity, coupled with cognitive reconstructing of negative and self‐defeating attitudes and misconceptions, is proposed to boost motivation and change behaviors (Lachman et al, 2018). The same principle also applies to advice on sleep difficulties, nutritional intake, and other predictors found to be impacting decline of the frailty state in our study.…”

Health Behaviors and Health Status among Middle-Aged and Older Adults with Chronic Diseases in Taiwan

“…Health promotion and education campaigns have increased worldwide in recent years. However, studies have highlighted the fact that many individuals do not engage in health behaviors [ 48 , 49 ]. Therefore, our study could provide another perspective on promoting health behaviors using past experiences.…”