Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2009;55(1):64-72.
doi: 10.1159/000141518. Epub 2008 Jun 20.

Older adults, chronic disease and leisure-time physical activity

Maureen C Ashe  1 , William C Miller, Janice J Eng, Luc Noreau; Physical Activity and Chronic Conditions Research Team
Affiliations

Older adults, chronic disease and leisure-time physical activity

Maureen C Ashe et al. Gerontology. 2009.

Abstract

Background: Participating in regular physical activity is an important part of healthy aging. There is an increased risk for inactivity associated with aging and the risk becomes greater for adults who have a chronic disease. However, there is limited information on current physical activity levels for older adults and even less for those with chronic diseases.

Objective: Our primary objective was to determine the proportion of older adults who achieved a recommended amount of weekly physical activity (>or=1,000 kcal/week). The secondary objectives were to identify variables associated with meeting guideline leisure-time physical activity (LTPA), and to describe the type of physical activities that respondents reported across different chronic diseases.

Methods: In this study we used the Canadian Community Health Survey Cycle 1.1 (2000/2001) to report LTPA for adults aged 65 years and older. This was a population-based self-report telephone survey. We used univariate logistic regression to provide odds ratios to determine differences in activity and the likelihood of meeting guideline recommendations.

Results: For adults over 65 years of age with no chronic diseases, 30% reported meeting guideline LTPA, while only 23% met the recommendations if they had one or more chronic diseases. Factors associated with achieving the guideline amount of physical activity included a higher level of education, higher income and moderate alcohol consumption. Likelihood for not achieving the recommended level of LTPA included low BMI, pain and the presence of mobility and dexterity problems. Walking, gardening and home exercises were the three most frequent types of reported physical activities.

Conclusion: This study provides the most recent evidence to suggest that older Canadians are not active enough and this is accentuated if a chronic disease is present. It is important to develop community-based programs to facilitate LTPA, in particular for older people with a chronic disease.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Physical Activity and Health: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion; 1996.
    1. Evenson KR, Rosamond WD, Cai J, Toole JF, Hutchinson RG, Shahar E, Folsom AR. Physical Activity and Ischemic Stroke Risk: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study. Stroke. 1999;30:1333–9. - PubMed
    1. Bassuk SS, Manson JE. Epidemiological evidence for the role of physical activity in reducing risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Journal of Applied Physiology. 2005;99:1193–1204. - PubMed
    1. Sigal RJ, Kenny GP, Wasserman DH, Castaneda-Sceppa C. Physical Activity/Exercise and Type 2 Diabetes: A consensus statement from the American Diabetes Association. Diabetes Care. 2006;29:1433–1438. - PubMed
    1. American College of Sports Medicine. Position Stand: Physical Activity and Bone Health. Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise. 2004:1985–1996. - PubMed

Publication types

Grants and funding