Why Older Adults Spend Time Sedentary and Break Their Sedentary Behavior: A Mixed-Methods Approach Using Life-Logging Equipment

Abstract

Older adults are recommended to reduce their sedentary time to promote healthy ageing. To develop effective interventions identifying when, why, and how older adults are able to change their sitting habits is important. The aim of this mixed-method study was to improve our understanding of reasons for (breaking) sedentary behavior in older adults. Thirty older adults (74.0 [±5.3] years old, 73% women) were asked about their believed reasons for (breaking) sedentary behavior, and about their actual reasons when looking at a personal storyboard with objective records of activPAL monitor data and time-lapse camera pictures showing all their periods of sedentary time in a day. The most often mentioned believed reason for remaining sedentary was television/radio (mentioned by 48.3%), while eating/drinking was most often mentioned as actual reason (96.6%). Only 17.2% believed that food/tea preparation was a reason to break up sitting, while this was an actual reason for 82.8% of the study sample. Results of this study show that there is a discrepancy between believed and actual reasons for (breaking) sedentary behavior. These findings suggest developing interventions utilizing the actual reasons for breaking sedentary behavior to reduce sedentary time in older adults.

Exploring adults’ experiences of sedentary behaviour and participation in non-workplace interventions designed to reduce sedentary behaviour: a thematic synthesis of qualitative studies

“…Two reviewers completed title and abstract screening and identified 33 titles for full text screening; nine of these studies met our criteria. Five papers investigated sedentary behaviour in those with a medical condition [60–64], three explored factors affecting older adults’ sedentary behaviours and the acceptability of potential strategies to reduce sedentary time [65–67] and one focused on factors influencing time spent in sedentary behaviour and explored strategies to reduce this sedentariness in African American women in home, work, and social environments [68]. This demonstrates the growing interest in understanding people’s experiences of sedentary behaviour.…”

Reducing Sedentary Time among Older Adults in Assisted Living: Perceptions, Barriers, and Motivators

“…Conversely, motivators for reducing or breaking up sedentary time include improving health and relieving pain and stiffness [16,18]. Completing domestic chores, preparing food, or self-care activities are also frequently cited motivators for breaking up sedentary time [16,17]. Although this research offers valuable insight into the factors that prevent or encourage older adults to limit their sedentary time, all of the aforementioned studies included only community dwelling individuals.…”

“…Recent literature has indicated that older adults frequently identify fatigue, pain, or health problems as barriers to reducing sedentary time [16][17][18]. Another commonly cited barrier is one's enjoyment of sedentary activities such as watching TV or reading [17,18]. Conversely, motivators for reducing or breaking up sedentary time include improving health and relieving pain and stiffness [16,18].…”

“…Assisted living can include a range of services but most have at minimum 24-hour emergency assistance, meal service, and some housekeeping support. Given that domestic chores and food preparation are common motivators for breaking up sedentary time among community dwelling older adults [17], it is not surprising that individuals in assisted-living accumulate less time standing and moving compared to their community dwelling counterparts [20,21]. Residents in care homes in Scotland and Spain reported that the daily routine in their facilities was highly inactive and they felt that they were discouraged by staff from being active due to concerns about safety [22].…”

The Effects of Displacing Sedentary Behavior With Two Distinct Patterns of Light Activity on Health Outcomes in Older Adults (Implications for COVID-19 Quarantine)

“…Furthermore, women tend to exhibit greater anabolic resistance and larger reductions in strength following disuse compared to men (Smith et al, 2008(Smith et al, , 2012. Self-isolation is likely to exacerbate SB, given that habitual SB is primarily accumulated at home, during social isolation (Leask et al, 2015;Dontje et al, 2018). Despite acknowledgement of their limited efficacy/ palatability (Chen et al, 2020;Jiménez-Pavón et al, 2020;Lippi et al, 2020), the default solution is simply recommending that older adults engage in moderate to vigorous physical activity [structured exercise (moderate to vigorous physical activity, MVPA)] with no clear directives vis-a-vis breaking up sitting time.…”