The Physical Activity Patterns of Older Australians

2005 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonya Brownie

One of the aims of this study was to examine the relationship between gender, health profile and physical activity patterns of older Australians. Using a self-administered postal questionnaire, data were obtained from 1,263 Australians (641 males, 622 females), aged 65-98 years, randomly selected from the 2000 Australian Electoral Commission roll. Participants provided general demographic data in addition to information about key health features and self-reported weekly participation in various physical activities. More than half (55%) of the sample averaged at least 30 minutes' exercise most days, excluding gardening and housework. Men participated in a wider range of physical activities and were more likely to average at least 30 minutes' exercise most days compared to women. Living arrangements, ethnicity, education and income were important sociological determinants of low, medium, or high levels of exercise participation. Perceived poor health, chronic disease, lack of motivation and energy, were barriers to achieving regular exercise. Gym training (4%) and tai chi/yoga (2%) were the least popular forms of exercise, yet weight resistance training and Tai chi are associated with improvements in strength, balance, flexibility and range of motion, and could play an important role in reducing the morbidity associated with ageing. General practitioners are well positioned to help older Australians take the first steps towards achieving the national target of at least 30 minutes' moderate-intensity activity most days.

2015 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin Stanek ◽  
Katherine Rogers ◽  
Jordan Anderson

Context: Researchers have examined the physical activity (PA) habits of certified athletic trainers; however, none have looked specifically at athletic training students. Objective: To assess PA participation and constraints to participation among athletic training students. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Entry-level athletic training education programs (undergraduate and graduate) across the United States. Patients or Other Participants: Participants were 1125 entry-level athletic training students. Main Outcome Measure(s): Self-reported PA participation, including a calculated PA index based on a typical week. Leisure constraints and demographic data were also collected. Results: Only 22.8% (252/1105) of athletic training students were meeting the American College of Sports Medicine recommendations for PA through moderate-intensity cardiorespiratory exercise. Although 52.3% (580/1105) were meeting the recommendations through vigorous-intensity cardiorespiratory exercise, 60.5% (681/1125) were meeting the recommendations based on the combined total of moderate or vigorous cardiorespiratory exercise. In addition, 57.2% (643/1125) of respondents met the recommendations for resistance exercise. Exercise habits of athletic training students appear to be better than the national average and similar to those of practicing athletic trainers. Students reported structural constraints such as lack of time due to work or studies as the most significant barrier to exercise participation. Conclusions: Athletic training students experienced similar constraints to PA participation as practicing athletic trainers, and these constraints appeared to influence their exercise participation during their entry-level education. Athletic training students may benefit from a greater emphasis on work-life balance during their entry-level education to promote better health and fitness habits.


2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 1320-1326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chelsey M. Thul ◽  
Marla E. Eisenberg ◽  
Nicole Larson ◽  
Dianne Neumark-Sztainer

Background:Little is known about the physical activity patterns of Somali adolescents. This study compared time spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and participation in specific physical activities among Somali, other Non-Hispanic black and white adolescents.Methods:A subsample of 1,268 adolescents (mean age= 14.6) who completed surveys as part of the EAT 2010 (Eating and Activity in Teens) study was included in analyses. Gender-stratified linear and logistic regressions, controlling for body mass index and demographic characteristics, were conducted to estimate mean weekly hours of self-reported MVPA and mean weekly hours and prevalence of engagement in each of 26 physical activities assessed by ethnic/racial group.Results:Somali girls had lower mean MVPA hours than their peers; however, no differences were found for Somali boys. Involvement in most activities was similar for Somali and other groups, but some differences were observed. For example, Somali youth were more likely to play soccer than their same-sex other black peers (boys: 52.4% vs. 20.4%; girls: 34.6% vs. 14.6%; P < .05). Somali girls also engaged in more hours per week of soccer than their black or white peers.Conclusions:Activities for which Somali youth indicated higher involvement may be particularly relevant for culturally-tailored physical activity programming.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shao-Wei Yeh ◽  
Chun-Yan Yuan ◽  
Yu-Feng Wu ◽  
Rui Shen

BACKGROUND Promoting physical activity for adolescence is a global challenge in public health. Physical inactivity and sedentary behaviors have been regarded to cause harmful chronic diseases to adolescent lifespan. However, high engagement in mobile technology for students may provide opportunities to help change adolescent unhealthy behaviors. Therefore, school sectors may play an important key role, such as implementing mobile health (mHealth) intervention to change students’ unhealthy behaviors and promote regular physical exercise behaviors, especially during the transition from adolescence to young adult. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to explore university students’ daily exercise patterns upon intervention of school-based mHealth project. METHODS Students’ physical exercise participation was recorded with students’ mobile application. With 4152 university freshmen (1476 males, 2676 females) and 335898 of their exercise records were analyzed (mean frequency of 38.2 ±16.10 in males, 45.1±10.81 in females) during the semester. RESULTS Under the school intervention project, students that exercised on Friday and Saturday was lower than that on other days, which indicated that the participation in exercise were more active on weekdays than on weekends. Among the participants who completed the requirement set by the school intervention project, both males and females used weekends to do exercise. On the other hand, overweight male university students participated in physical activity more than the requirement of the school intervention project and their exercise duration were found to be significantly higher than other participants. CONCLUSIONS Understanding a week of daily exercise patterns among youth upon the school mHealth Apps intervention can benefit in developing efficient and flexible projects to promote physical health and improve regular exercise participation in youth.


2005 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen M. Majchrzak ◽  
Lara B. Pupim ◽  
Kong Chen ◽  
Cathi J. Martin ◽  
Sheila Gaffney ◽  
...  

2002 ◽  
Vol 34 (8) ◽  
pp. 1255-1261 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANN P. RAFFERTY ◽  
MATHEW J. REEVES ◽  
HARRY B. MCGEE ◽  
JAMES M. PIVARNIK

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 528-529
Author(s):  
Eric Shiroma ◽  
J David Rhodes ◽  
Aleena Bennet ◽  
Monika M Safford ◽  
Leslie MacDonald ◽  
...  

Abstract Major life events, such as retirement, may lead to dramatic shifts in physical activity (PA) patterns. However, there are limited empirical data quantifying the magnitude of these changes. Our aims were to objectively measure PA before and after retirement and to describe changes in participation in various types of PA. Participants were employed black and white men and women enrolled in REGARDS (REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke), a national prospective cohort study (n=581, mean age 64 years, 25% black, 51% women). Participants met inclusion criteria if they retired between their first and second accelerometer wearing (2009-2013 and 2017-2018, respectively) and had valid accelerometer data (&gt;4 days with &gt;10 hours/day pre- and post-retirement). Accelerometer-based PA was categorized into average minutes per day spent in sedentary, light-intensity, and moderate-to-vigorous PA. Participants reported changes (less, same, more) in 12 types of PA. After retirement, participants decreased both sedentary time (by 36.3 minutes/day) and moderate-to-vigorous PA (by 5.6 minutes/day). Conversely, there was an increase in light-intensity PA (+18.1 minutes/day) after retirement. Participants reported changes in their participation level in various PA activities. For example, 41% reported an increased amount of TV viewing, 42% reported less walking, and 31% reported increased participation in volunteer activities. Findings indicate that retirement coincides with a change in the time spent in each intensity category and the time spent across a range of activity types. Further research is warranted to examine how these changes in physical activity patterns influence post-retirement health status.


2012 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 222-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nanna Yr Arnardottir ◽  
Annemarie Koster ◽  
Dane R. Van Domelen ◽  
Robert J. Brychta ◽  
Paolo Caserotti ◽  
...  

Obesity ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 153-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria A. Catenacci ◽  
Lorraine G. Ogden ◽  
Jennifer Stuht ◽  
Suzanne Phelan ◽  
Rena R. Wing ◽  
...  

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 374-390 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samantha J. Downs ◽  
Stuart J. Fairclough ◽  
Zoe R. Knowles ◽  
Lynne M. Boddy

The aim of this study was to assess the physical activity (PA) patterns of youth with intellectual disabilities (ID). PA was monitored for 7 days in 70 participants, 5–15 years old, using accelerometers. There were 32 participants included in the final analysis. Habitual PA and the number of continuous bouts accrued for a range of bout lengths (5–600 s) for light (LPA), moderate (MPA), and vigorous (VPA) PA were calculated. Multivariate analysis of covariance was used to assess differences in the number of continuous bouts by sex, age, and ID group and between week and weekend days. Participants exhibited short sporadic bursts of activity. The number of continuous bouts decreased as the intensity and duration increased. Few differences in PA patterns were reported by sex, ID group, and age group and between week and weekend days, possibly due to the generally low PA levels in this population.


1999 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 313-323 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Sternfeld ◽  
B.E. Ainsworth ◽  
C.P. Quesenberry

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