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

This study aims to objectively assess physical activity (PA) levels and sedentary behavior (SB) in a cohort of Spanish centenarians and their nonagenarian peers. PA and SB 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=0.003, d=1.851) and steps per day (455±237 vs 1,249±776, P=0.007, 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=0.019, d=0.971). When observing time distribution the most active day period in both groups was the morning, with a peak between 10:00-11:59. Our data suggest that the decline in PA levels continues to worsen until the end of the human lifespan. PMID: 31034321 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Journal of Aging and Physical Activity - Category: Geriatrics Tags: J Aging Phys Act Source Type: research