Research Study Abstract

Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior at the End of the Human Lifespan

  • Published on May 4, 2019

Abstract
To objectively assess physical activity levels and sedentary behavior in a cohort of Spanish centenarians and their nonagenarian peers. Physical activity and sedentary behavior patterns were objectively measured by an ActiGraph GT3X accelerometer in centenarians (n = 18; 83% women; 100.8 ± 0.8 [100–103] years) and nonagenarians (n = 11; 91% women; 93.3 ± 2.5 [90–98] years). Centenarians showed less counts per minute (17.6 ± 7.1 vs. 46.1 ± 23.7, p = .003, d = 1.851) and steps per day (455 ± 237 vs. 1,249 ± 776, p = .007, d = 1.587) than nonagenarians. The daily number of sedentary breaks was also lower in the former (5.0 ± 1.5 vs. 6.7 ± 2.0, p = .019, d = 0.971). When observing time distribution, the most active day period in both groups was the morning, with a peak between 10:00 and 11:59. This data suggest that the decline in physical activity levels continues to worsen until the end of the human lifespan.

Author(s)

  • Adrián Hernández-Vicente 1,2
  • Alejandro Santos-Lozano 3,4
  • Carmen Mayolas-Pi 1
  • Gabriel Rodríguez-Romo 5
  • Helios Pareja-Galeano 4,6
  • Natalia Bustamante 7,8,9
  • Eva M. Gómez-Trullén 1
  • Alejandro Lucia 4,6
  • Nuria Garatachea 1,2

Institution(s)

  • 1

    Faculty of Health and Sport Science, University of Zaragoza, Huesca, Spain
  • 2

    GENUD research group, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain
  • 3

    i+HeALTH, Department of Health Sciences, European University Miguel de Cervantes, Valladolid, Spain
  • 4

    Research Institute of Hospital 12 de Octubre (“i+12”), Madrid, Spain
  • 5

    Facultad de Ciencias de la Actividad Física y del Deporte – INEF, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, España; CIBERFES (Fragilidad y Envejecimiento Saludables), Madrid, España
  • 6

    Faculty of Sport Sciences, Universidad Europea de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
  • 7

    Facultad de Educación, Universidad Autónoma de Chile, Talca, Chile
  • 8

    Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBERObn), Madrid, Spain
  • 9

    Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón (IA2), Zaragoza, Spain

Journal

Journal of Aging and Physical Activity

Categories

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