Variations in Observed Park Physical Activity Intensity Level by Gender, Race, and Age: Individual and Joint Effects

Background:Parks are important settings for physical activity (PA), but few studies have documented the actual behaviors of park users. The purpose of this study was to examine the individual and joint effects of various park user demographic characteristics on observed PA intensity levels.Methods:Four parks were observed using the System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities. Observers recorded the age group, gender, race, and intensity level of all park users in 83 activity areas over two weekends at each park. Logistic regression examined whether male/White, female/White, and male/non-White users were more likely than female/non-White users to be observed engaging in moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) rather than sedentary activity across 4 age groups.Results:In total, 8612 users were observed during the study. In the child age group, male/White users were significantly more likely to be observed in MVPA than female/non-White users. For teens, female/White and male/White users were less likely to engage in MVPA. For both adults and seniors, female/White and male/White users were more likely to be observed in MVPA.Conclusion:Observations revealed significant differences in intensity levels across gender, age, and race groups. Future interventions should emphasize park design that promotes increased MVPA among diverse groups.

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Reexamination of Accelerometer Calibration with Energy Expenditure as Criterion: VO2net Instead of MET for Age-Equivalent Physical Activity Intensity

Sensors ◽

10.3390/s19153377 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 19 (15) ◽

pp. 3377 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Daniel Arvidsson ◽

Jonatan Fridolfsson ◽

Christoph Buck ◽

Örjan Ekblom ◽

Elin Ekblom-Bak ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Age Groups ◽

Accelerometer Data ◽

Physical Activity Intensity ◽

Free Living ◽

Activity Intensity ◽

Age Related ◽

Younger Age ◽

Metabolic Equivalent Of Task ◽

Adolescents And Adults

Accelerometer calibration for physical activity (PA) intensity is commonly performed using Metabolic Equivalent of Task (MET) as criterion. However, MET is not an age-equivalent measure of PA intensity, which limits the use of MET-calibrated accelerometers for age-related PA investigations. We investigated calibration using VO2net (VO2gross − VO2stand; mL⋅min−1⋅kg−1) as criterion compared to MET (VO2gross/VO2rest) and the effect on assessment of free-living PA in children, adolescents and adults. Oxygen consumption and hip/thigh accelerometer data were collected during rest, stand and treadmill walk and run. Equivalent speed (Speedeq) was used as indicator of the absolute speed (Speedabs) performed with the same effort in individuals of different body size/age. The results showed that VO2net was higher in younger age-groups for Speedabs, but was similar in the three age-groups for Speedeq. MET was lower in younger age-groups for both Speedabs and Speedeq. The same VO2net-values respective MET-values were applied to all age-groups to develop accelerometer PA intensity cut-points. Free-living moderate-and-vigorous PA was 216, 115, 74 and 71 min/d in children, adolescents, younger and older adults with VO2net-calibration, but 140, 83, 74 and 41 min/d with MET-calibration, respectively. In conclusion, VO2net calibration of accelerometers may provide age-equivalent measures of PA intensity/effort for more accurate age-related investigations of PA in epidemiological research.

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Impact of physical activity and lifestyle in pre-infection on the susceptibility and prognosis of infects with COVID-19

10.21203/rs.3.rs-50626/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Baozhen Huang ◽

Shixi Zhang ◽

Jiuyu Gong ◽

Yanlin Niu ◽

Fengjuan Zhang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Hospital Stay ◽

Regression Models ◽

Moderate Physical Activity ◽

Intensity Level ◽

Moderate Activity ◽

Physical Activity Intensity ◽

Special Effect ◽

Lifestyle Habits ◽

Activity Intensity

Abstract Background There are very few studies focusing on the relationship between COVID-19 and pre-infection lifestyle. In the absence of effective vaccines and special-effect medicines, it is very meaningful to actively respond to the disease pandemic by improving lifestyle habits. Methods This is a multicenter, retrospective cohort study enrolled 431 adult people including 228 normal people and 203 confirmed infects in Wubei, Henan and Shandong Provinces. Questionnaires were used to collect information on physical activity and lifestyle by competent doctors. The univariate logistic regression models and multiple regression models were used in risk factor analysis. Kruskal-Wallis H test were used to test the correlation. Results Lifestyle habits including exercise, smoking, sedentary behavior and physical activity intensity can significantly affect the probability of getting COVID-19 (P < 0.05). The MET (Metabolic Equivalent) intensity classification and sleep status are found to be the potential influencing factors of prognosis in both all infects and symptomatic patients. In all infects, taking the high MET intensity level as a reference, inpatient days would increase by 1.812 times (95% CI: 0.887–3.701) with no significance when the level is moderate (P > 0.05) and significantly increase by 6.674 times (95% CI: 1.613–27.613) when the level is low (P < 0.05). Kruskal-Wallis H test results showed moderate activity MET*min promoted shorter hospital stay (P < 0.05) mainly. Conclusions Sleep status and physical activity influenced the susceptibility and prognosis of COVID-19. Lack of sleep and low MET intensity level may prolong the hospital stay, which means a relatively slow recovery. This encourages the public to have moderate physical activity and adequate sleep to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic actively.

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Employing Machine Learning to Estimate Hallmark Measures of Physical Activities from Wrist-worn Devices Across Age Groups

10.20944/preprints202103.0333.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Mamoun T. Mardini ◽

Chen Bai ◽

Amal A. Wanigatunga ◽

Santiago Saldana ◽

Ramon Casanova ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Machine Learning ◽

Energy Expenditure ◽

Age Groups ◽

Physical Activities ◽

Accelerometer Data ◽

Activity Type ◽

Physical Activity Intensity ◽

Activity Intensity ◽

Score Range

Wrist-worn fitness trackers and smartwatches are proliferating with an incessant attention towards health tracking. Given the growing popularity of wrist-worn devices across all age groups, a rigorous evaluation for recognizing hallmark measures of physical activities and estimating energy expenditure is needed to compare their accuracy across the lifespan. The goal of the study was to build machine learning models to recognize physical activity type (sedentary, locomotion, and lifestyle) and intensity (low, light, and moderate), identify individual physical activities, and estimate energy expenditure. The primary aim of this study was to build and compare models for different age groups: young [20-50 years], middle (50-70 years], and old (70-89 years]. Participants (n = 253, 62% women, aged 20-89 years old) performed a battery of 33 daily activities in a standardized laboratory setting while wearing a portable metabolic unit to measure energy expenditure that was used to gauge metabolic intensity. Tri-axial accelerometer collected data at 80-100 Hz from the right wrist that was processed for 49 features. Results from random forests algorithm were quite accurate in recognizing physical activity type, the F1-Score range across age groups was: sedentary [0.955 – 0.973], locomotion [0.942 – 0.964], and lifestyle [0.913 – 0.949]. Recognizing physical activity intensity resulted in lower performance, the F1-Score range across age groups was: sedentary [0.919 – 0.947], light [0.813 – 0.828], and moderate [0.846 – 0.875]. The root mean square error range was [0.835 – 1.009] for the estimation of energy expenditure. The F1-Score range for recognizing individual physical activities was [0.263 – 0.784]. Performances were relatively similar and the accelerometer data features were ranked similarly between age groups. In conclusion, data features derived from wrist worn accelerometers lead to high-moderate accuracy estimating physical activity type, intensity and energy expenditure and are robust to potential age-differences.

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Estimating Absolute and Relative Physical Activity Intensity Across Age via Accelerometry in Adults

Journal of Aging and Physical Activity ◽

10.1123/japa.18.2.158 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 18 (2) ◽

pp. 158-170 ◽

Cited By ~ 68

Author(s):

Nora E. Miller ◽

Scott J. Strath ◽

Ann M. Swartz ◽

Susan E. Cashin

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Oxygen Consumption ◽

Predictive Validity ◽

Age Groups ◽

Regression Equations ◽

Physiological Changes ◽

Physical Activity Intensity ◽

Activity Intensity ◽

Metabolic Equivalents ◽

Calibration Study

This study examined the predictive validity of accelerometers (ACC) to estimate physical activity intensity (PAI) across age and differences in intensity predictions when expressed in relative and absolute PAI terms. Ninety adults categorized into 3 age groups (20–29, 40–49, and 60–69 yr) completed a treadmill calibration study with simultaneous ACC (7164 Actigraph) and oxygen-consumption assessment. Results revealed strong linear relations between ACC output and measured PAI (R2= .62–.89) across age and similar ACC cut-point ranges across age delineating absolute PAI ranges compared with previous findings. Comparing measured metabolic equivalents (METs) with estimated METs derived from previously published regression equations revealed that age did not affect predictive validity of ACC estimates of absolute PAI. Comparing ACC output expressed in relative vs. absolute terms across age revealed substantial differences in PAI ACC count ranges. Further work is warranted to increase the applicability of ACC use relative to PAI differences associated with physiological changes with age.

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Observational physical activity in public open spaces: environmental determinants of physical activity intensity levels in Iran

Global Health Promotion ◽

10.1177/1757975919875391 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 27 (3) ◽

pp. 131-139

Author(s):

Zeinab Aliyas ◽

Keyvan Jafari

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Age Groups ◽

Activity Levels ◽

User Characteristics ◽

Physical Activity Intensity ◽

Environmental Determinants ◽

Open Spaces ◽

Activity Intensity ◽

Public Open Spaces

Public open spaces play an important role in promoting physical activity (PA). This study aimed to describe user characteristics of public open spaces (POSs) given the type of location and levels of PA. The study also evaluated the relationship between the environmental determinants of POSs and PA intensity. The study used observational data to measure environmental determinants and obtain information on users and their activity levels in the POSs of Darab in Iran. Out of 13,342 individuals observed, the proportion of men was slightly higher than that of women. More than half of the users observed in the community parks performed vigorous activities. Children and teenagers were found more often than other age groups doing vigorous activities. Most of the observed users performed vigorous activities in the evening and sedentary activities during weekends. Seniors were more sedentary than the other groups. Greater size, and better facilities and aesthetics of POSs increased the odds of being more active. However, a higher number of incivilities was associated with a greater chance of walking and lower odds of performing vigorous activities. As the quality of POSs contributes to PA levels, stakeholders should consider the quality of such spaces to improve retrofitting and designing POSs to maximize activity levels.

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Decreased Physical Activity With Subjective Pleasure Is Associated With Rumination and Avoidance Behaviors

10.21203/rs.3.rs-927489/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Fumi Kagawa ◽

Satoshi Yokoyama ◽

Masahiro Takamura ◽

Koki Takagaki ◽

Yuki Mitsuyama ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Linear Regression Analysis ◽

Correlation Coefficients ◽

Autonomous Motivation ◽

Multiple Linear Regression Analysis ◽

Physical Activity Intensity ◽

Main Hypothesis ◽

Activity Intensity ◽

The Individual ◽

Objectively Measured

Abstract The main hypothesis for the relation between physical activity and mental health is that autonomous motivation, such as subjective pleasure for the activity, plays an important role. However, no report has described empirical research designed to examine the role of subjective pleasure in the relation between objectively measured physical activity and psychological indexes. We used accelerometers to collect data indicating participants' physical activity intensity during a week. Participants recorded their subjective pleasure of activity per hour. In 69% of them, the individual correlation coefficients between physical activity and pleasure in an hour (an index of Physical Activity-Pleasure; PA-PL) were positive (r=0.22, 95%Cl=[0.11 0.38]), indicating that pleasant sensations increased concomitantly with increasing physical activity. Conversely, 31% participants exhibited negative values of PA-PL, which means that the increase in physical activity had the opposite effect, decreasing pleasure. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that avoidance/rumination behaviors decreased significantly with increased PA-PL (β=-6.82, 95%CI: [-13.27 -0.38], p<.05). These results indicate that subjective pleasure attached to the PA is more important than the PA amount for reducing depressive behavior.

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Generation and validation of ActiGraph GT3X+ accelerometer cut-points for assessing physical activity intensity in older adults. The OUTDOOR ACTIVE validation study

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0252615 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (6) ◽

pp. e0252615

Author(s):

Karin Bammann ◽

Nicola K. Thomson ◽

Birte Marie Albrecht ◽

Duncan S. Buchan ◽

Chris Easton

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Older Adults ◽

Age Groups ◽

Physical Activity Intensity ◽

Convenience Sample ◽

Cut Points ◽

Everyday Activities ◽

Activity Intensity ◽

Study Participants ◽

Accelerometer Cut Points

The study of physical activity in older adults is becoming more and more relevant. For evaluation of physical activity recommendations, intensity-specific accelerometer cut-points are utilized. However, research on accelerometer cut-points for older adults is still scarce. The aim of the study was to generate placement-specific cut-points of ActiGraph GT3X+ activity counts and raw measures of acceleration to determine physical activity intensity in older adults. A further aim was to compare the validity of the generated cut-points for a range of different physical activities. The study was a single experimental trial using a convenience sample. Study participants were 20 adults aged 59 to 73 years. Accelerometers were worn at six different placements (one on each wrist, one on each ankle, and two at the hip) and breath-by-breath indirect calorimetry was used as the reference for energy. The experiment comprised of two parts; a) The first required participants to walk on a treadmill at incremental speeds (3.0–5.0 km·h-1), and b) Five different everyday activities (reading, cleaning, shopping, cycling, aerobics) were staged in the laboratory setting. Accelerometer cut-points (activity counts, raw data) were derived for each of the investigated placements by linear regression using the treadmill part. Performance of the cut-points was assessed by applying the cut-points to the everyday activities. We provide cut-points for six placements and two accelerometer metrics in the specific age group. However, the derived cut-points did not outperform published ones. More research and innovative approaches are needed for improving internal and external validity of research results across populations and age groups.

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The Association Between Physical Activity, Including Physical Activity Intensity, and Fear of Falling Differs by Fear Severity in Older Adults Living in the Community

The Journals of Gerontology Series B ◽

10.1093/geronb/gby103 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 75 (5) ◽

pp. 953-960 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Ryuichi Sawa ◽

Tsuyoshi Asai ◽

Takehiko Doi ◽

Shogo Misu ◽

Shunsuke Murata ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Older Adults ◽

Fear Of Falling ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Step Count ◽

Intensity Level ◽

Physical Activity Intensity ◽

Activity Intensity ◽

Intensity Physical Activity ◽

Community Dwelling Older Adults

Abstract Objectives Fear of falling (FoF) is common in older adults. Physical activity decreases as FoF increases. However, this association between physical activity and FoF may vary depending on activity intensity. The current study was performed to explore the associations between FoF and step count, light-intensity physical activity (LPA), and moderate/vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA) in community-dwelling older adults. Methods This cross-sectional observational study was held at a local community association center, with 242 older adults living independently in the community (mean age: 75.1 ± 5.4 years). FoF was defined using the Falls Efficacy Scale-International and categorized into three levels (low, moderate, and high). Physical activity was measured using a uniaxial accelerometer worn for 7 consecutive days, and by calculating daily step count, LPA, and MVPA, over this period. Results Step count and physical activity intensity showed significant linear trends across FoF severity (p < .01, respectively). High FoF decreased step count by approximately 2,000 steps/day. Further, high FoF was significantly associated with short durations of both LPA and MVPA. In addition, moderate FoF was associated with decreased LPA duration, even after adjustment for confounding variables. Discussion Physical activity decreased concomitantly with a rise in FoF severity. Moreover, the association between physical activity and FoF differed by physical activity intensity level in community-dwelling older adults. Further studies are needed to investigate the causal relationship between FoF and objective physical activity in this population.

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