The relationship between sedentary behavior and health in older adults

Abstract

Older adults have been shown to engage in high amounts of sedentary behavior. However limited information exists on whether this behavior relates to health and the details regarding sedentary behaviors. The primary purpose of this dissertation was to examine the relationship between time spent in sedentary behavior and risk factors for chronic disease development in older adults. The secondary purpose was to define the common sedentary behaviors and describe the characteristics of these behaviors. Seventy-three retired adults (65-90 years of age) wore accelerometers to measure their sedentary behaviors for seven days and completed a diary on three days of the week (two weekdays and one weekend day). Correlations and regressions were used to examine the relationship between sedentary behavior and health. Analysis of variance methods were used to compare sedentary behavior by gender and age, and across physical activity levels. Older adults spent 65% of their day being sedentary and this behavior was related for the group to waist circumference (r=.25) and triglycerides (r=.26), and individually for men and women with percent body fat (r=.32-.43), but sedentary behavior was not predictive of health. Sedentary behavior was significantly less for those meeting the physical activity recommendations compared with those who did not, 7% for the entire group. Health outcomes (waist circumference, body fat percent, and triglycerides) were worse in the highest sedentary group compared to the moderately sedentary. There were five prevalent sedentary behaviors; watching television, using the computer, reading, eating, and transportation. There were also differences in the time spent in sedentary behaviors between gender with men napping and eating more than women. Differences also occurred for socializing, eating, reading, and talking on the telephone during the weekdays and weekend days. Being alone and eating were factors of being sedentary. Sedentary behavior was related to two risk factors for chronic disease development in older adults and the descriptions of sedentary behaviors are important findings for future studies for developing interventions to reduce this behavior in older adults.