Physical Activity in Older Adults

Physical activity is particularly important among older adults, for they can benefit greatly from increasing activity levels. In adulthood, physical activity consistently shows a positive association with broader constructs, such as perceived quality of life and feelings of wellbeing (Bize, Johnson, & Plotnikoff, 2007). However, around 3. 2 million deaths per year are attributed to inactivity internationally (Taylor, 2014). According to the World Health Organization (2010), the five leading causes of death are high blood pressure, smoking, high blood glucose, physical activity, and obesity. Physical inactivity also can contribute to high blood pressure, high blood glucose, and obesity. Overall, higher levels of physical activity were also associated with a 7% lower risk of total cancer (Moore el al. , 2016).

Increased physical activity has even been suggested as the most crucial intervention to improve health across a population (Paterson et al. , 2007). Still, even with these startling statistics, less than 20% of North Americans are meeting suggested physical activity guidelines. Older adults on average are even less physically active, with them being the most physically inactive out of all age groups (Troiano et al. , 2008). Since older adults generally do not work, their neighborhood is where they spend most of their time. Existing research has shown that physical environmental factors from the built environment, such as neighborhood walkability, partially explain older adults’ physical activity (Carlson et al. , 2012). Older people may be specifically sensitive to influences from the built environment, for they often prefer shorter walking distances, desire safe pedestrian facilities, and have more free time to spend in infrastructures such as parks and community fitness centers. Sallis et al. (2006) created a framework that incorporates four active living domains (occupation, household, leisure, and transport) and states that relationships between socio-ecological correlates and PA are domain-specific.

For older adults, their main active living domains would be household and leisure, as well as a large reliance on transportation if they are unable to drive. Still, it seems as if changing the built environment can only benefit a community depending on the social cognition of the individuals within that community. Fleig et al. (2016) showed that, among a sample of older adults, the effects of walkability and physical activity were mediated completely through perceptions of behavioral control. A possible solution to this problem could be a relationship between physical activity, built environment, and social networks. Physical activity interventions in older adults often focus on changing psychosocial skills, barriers, self-efficacy and social support (Kahn et al. , 2002). Walkability of a community interacts with social support in explaining total Moderate to Vigorous Physical Activity (MVPA) of older adults. There was also a relationship between walkability, social support, self-efficacy, and barriers in explaining walking for transportation (Carlson et al. , 2012). Therefore, since the relationship with the built environment, social cognition, and physical activity is so complex, it is difficult to really decide what the right solution is for a community of older adults that is inactive. With the population of older adults rising with baby boomers, it is crucial that this problem be addressed so chronic diseases and mortality can be prevented in the future.

Discussion Questions with Short Answers (no longer than 2 pages, double-spaced):

1. Identify the multiple ways in which social and cultural factors may have played a role in how physical inactivity in older adults unfolded. Older adults can become physically inactive for many reasons. When older adults no longer have to go to work, that eliminates a large portion of the transport walking that they partake in daily. This is especially a problem for older adults that live in rural areas, for they are less physically active than older adults in urban areas (Xue et al. , 2010). Loneliness is also a large problem in the older adult population, for 43% of older adults report feeling lonely. Lonely older adults were more likely to experience decrease in activities of daily living, difficulties in upper extremity tasks, decline in mobility, and difficulty in climbing. They were also associated with an increased risk of death (Perissinotto et al. , 2015). In the case description example, I described how important a strong social support system is for physical activity levels in older adults.
2. How might other factors like age and gender amplify or attenuate the various factors related to physical inactivity in older adults: Older women have a larger association with physical inactivity than men. Lee (2005) stated that women were less active overall, but more involved in household activities. Personal and environmental factors contributed to poor conditions in turns of physical activity in women, but men were not as affected by personal and environmental factors. However, in regards to marital status, married men or formerly married men were more likely to be physically active than men who had never married. For women, however, physical activity levels were not associated to marital status (Crespo et al. , 2000).
3. Discuss 1 way that physical inactivity in adults could have been prevented. Though this problem seems to have been present for a long time, this problem could have been prevented by providing a community that is walkable for older adults. This means more sidewalks near their home, having retirement communities walkable to stores nearby, and having a good amount of benches and areas to rest if they are walking long distances. Also, making parks more handicap accessible could help older adults become more physically active.
4. In your specific case example, what role might a Behavioral Science and Health Education professional play in promoting health: A Behavioral Science and Health Education professional could work with an urban planner to make sure that the sidewalks and parks in the area are walkable for older adults. After adapting the built environment to make older adults able to be physically active, hosting physical activity classes would help build a social support system for older adults, and since the classes would be designed for seniors, then they would feel more confident and less uneasy about attending the class. Having group hikes for hobbies such as birding also allows older adults to learn more about what they love while they are physically active.
5. What are the financial benefits of solving this problem: On top of physical activity reducing overall mortality, older adults that are physically active save more money. Patients who regularly exercise and have heart disease spend $2500 less annually in medical costs than those who have heart disease and are physically inactive. Even those without heart disease spend five hundred dollars less annually than inactive adults. If just twenty percent of adults with cardiovascular disease who do not regularly exercise met exercise goals, then billions of dollars on health care would be saved nationally (American Heart Association, 2016).