Introduction: The aims of this study were: (i) to provide a detailed description of movement and nonmovement behaviors objectively assessed over the complete 24-h period in a sample of older adults, and (ii) to analyze differences in these behaviors by sex, age, educational level, body mass index, self-rated health, and chronic conditions.
Methods: The sample comprised 607 high-functioning community-dwelling older adults (383 women), 65 to 92 yr, who participated in the IMPACT65+ study. Movement and nonmovement behaviors were assessed by the Intelligent Device for Energy Expenditure and Activity, which provide estimates on both temporal and spatial gait parameters, and identify specific functional activities on the basis of acceleration and position information.
Results: The final sample with valid data was 432 older adults (284 women). Around 30.7% of daily time was engaged in sedentary behavior (SB), whereas 33.5% and 35.8% was represented by physical activity (PA) and sleep, respectively. Sitting passive was the most prevalent SB (vs lying and reclining), whereas most light PA was by standing (vs active sitting and walking at <2.5 mph). Time spent walking at ≥2.5 mph was the major contributor to moderate-to-vigorous PA. No differences were found in sleep time by sociodemographic or health-related characteristics, but there were relevant differences in sedentary and PA behaviors.
Conclusions: This study offers a detailed description of the distribution of SB, PA, and sleep in elderly across the 24-h spectrum. The results could be used to focus the strategies aimed to improve health in the old age.