A Study of Leisure Walking Intensity Levels on Mental Health and Health Perception of Older Adults

Areum Han; Junhyoung Kim; Jaehyun Kim

doi:10.1177/2333721421999316

A Study of Leisure Walking Intensity Levels on Mental Health and Health Perception of Older Adults

Gerontol Geriatr Med. 2021 Feb 27:7:2333721421999316. doi: 10.1177/2333721421999316. eCollection 2021 Jan-Dec.

Authors

Areum Han¹, Junhyoung Kim², Jaehyun Kim³

Affiliations

¹ Center for Curriculum and Institute of Studies, Korea University, Seoul, South Korea.
² School of Public Health, Indiana University, Bloomington, USA.
³ Department of Recreation, Therapeutic Recreation, and Tourism, State University of New York, College, Brockport, USA.

Abstract

Research suggests that different levels of intensity of leisure walking can affect the mental health of older adults. Unfortunately, insufficient evidence exists as to the recommended intensity levels of leisure walking for their health benefits. The purpose of this study was to investigate how leisure walking intensity levels are associated with the mental health and health perceptions of older adults. Using a purposive sampling method, the data of 4,737 adults over the age of 65 were drawn from the 2017 California Health and Interview Survey. The results of analysis of these data showed that older adults who engaged in moderate and vigorous leisure walking reported higher health perceptions than those involved in light leisure walking. In addition, older adults who participated in moderate leisure walking reported higher mental health than those who engaged in light leisure walking. This study suggests that moderate and/or vigorous leisure walking can increase the mental health and health perceptions of older adults.

Keywords: health perception; leisure walking; mental health; older adults.