Walking as a Contributor to Physical Activity in Healthy Older Adults: 2 Week Longitudinal Study Using Accelerometry and the Doubly Labeled Water Method

Giulio Valenti, Alberto G Bonomi, Klaas R Westerterp, Giulio Valenti, Alberto G Bonomi, Klaas R Westerterp

Abstract

Background: Physical activity is recommended to promote healthy aging. Defining the importance of activities such as walking in achieving higher levels of physical activity might provide indications for interventions.

Objective: To describe the importance of walking in achieving higher levels of physical activity in older adults.

Methods: The study included 42 healthy subjects aged between 51 and 84 years (mean body mass index 25.6 kg/m(2) [SD 2.6]). Physical activity, walking, and nonwalking activity were monitored with an accelerometer for 2 weeks. Physical activity was quantified by accelerometer-derived activity counts. An algorithm based on template matching and signal power was developed to classify activity counts into nonwalking counts, short walk counts, and long walk counts. Additionally, in a subgroup of 31 subjects energy expenditure was measured using doubly labeled water to derive physical activity level (PAL).

Results: Subjects had a mean PAL of 1.84 (SD 0.19, range 1.43-2.36). About 20% of the activity time (21% [SD 8]) was spent walking, which accounted for about 40% of the total counts (43% [SD 11]). Short bouts composed 83% (SD 9) of walking time, providing 81% (SD 11) of walking counts. A stepwise regression model to predict PAL included nonwalking counts and short walk counts, explaining 58% of the variance of PAL (standard error of the estimate=0.12). Walking activities produced more counts per minute than nonwalking activities (P<.001). Long walks produced more counts per minute than short walks (P=.001). Nonwalking counts were independent of walking counts (r=-.05, P=.38).

Conclusions: Walking activities are a major contributor to physical activity in older adults. Walking activities occur at higher intensities than nonwalking activities, which might prevent individuals from engaging in more walking activity. Finally, subjects who engage in more walking activities do not tend to compensate by limiting nonwalking activities.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01609764; https://ichgcp.net/clinical-trials-registry/NCT01609764 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6grls0wAp).

Keywords: accelerometry; aging; monitoring, ambulatory/instrumentation; physical activity; walking.

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 2
Figure 2
Composition of activity time and activity counts in older adults (N=42).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Walking counts versus nonwalking counts in older subjects (N=42).

References

    1. Westerterp KR. Daily physical activity and ageing. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2000 Nov;3(6):485–8.
    1. Meijer EP, Goris AH, Wouters L, Westerterp KR. Physical inactivity as a determinant of the physical activity level in the elderly. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2001 Jul;25(7):935–9. doi: 10.1038/sj.ijo.0801644.
    1. Speakman JR, Westerterp KR. Associations between energy demands, physical activity, and body composition in adult humans between 18 and 96 y of age. Am J Clin Nutr. 2010 Oct;92(4):826–34. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.2009.28540.
    1. Lohne-Seiler H, Hansen BH, Kolle E, Anderssen SA. Accelerometer-determined physical activity and self-reported health in a population of older adults (65-85 years): a cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health. 2014;14:284. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-14-284.
    1. Bajekal M, Wheller L, Dix D. Estimating residents and staff in communal establishments from the 2001 Census. Health Stat Q. 2006;(31):42–50.
    1. American College of Sports Medicine. Chodzko-Zajko WJ, Proctor DN, Fiatarone Singh Maria A. Minson CT, Nigg CR, Salem GJ, Skinner JS. American College of Sports Medicine position stand. Exercise and physical activity for older adults. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2009 Jul;41(7):1510–30. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0b013e3181a0c95c.
    1. Westerterp KR, Meijer EP. Physical activity and parameters of aging: a physiological perspective. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2001 Oct;56 Spec No 2:7–12.
    1. WHO . Global Recommendations on Physical Activity for Health 65 years old and above. WHO Guidelines Approved by the Guidelines Review Committee. Geneva: WHO Press,World Health Organization; 2010. p. 8.
    1. Makizako H, Shimada H, Doi T, Tsutsumimoto K, Lee S, Hotta R, Nakakubo S, Harada K, Lee S, Bae S, Harada K, Suzuki T. Cognitive functioning and walking speed in older adults as predictors of limitations in self-reported instrumental activity of daily living: prospective findings from the Obu Study of Health Promotion for the Elderly. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2015 Mar;12(3):3002–13. doi: 10.3390/ijerph120303002.
    1. Bijnen FC, Feskens EJ, Caspersen CJ, Mosterd WL, Kromhout D. Age, period, and cohort effects on physical activity among elderly men during 10 years of follow-up: the Zutphen Elderly Study. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 1998 May;53(3):M235–41.
    1. Liu S, Brooks D, Thomas S, Eysenbach G, Nolan RP. Lifesource XL-18 pedometer for measuring steps under controlled and free-living conditions. J Sports Sci. 2015;33(10):1001–6. doi: 10.1080/02640414.2014.981847.
    1. Raffin E, Bonnet S, Giraux P. Concurrent validation of a magnetometer-based step counter in various walking surfaces. Gait Posture. 2012 Jan;35(1):18–22. doi: 10.1016/j.gaitpost.2011.07.017.
    1. Portegijs E, Tsai L, Rantanen T, Rantakokko M. Moving through Life-Space Areas and Objectively Measured Physical Activity of Older People. PLoS One. 2015;10(8):e0135308. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0135308.
    1. Zhang Y, Beenakker Karel G M. Butala PM, Lin C, Little Thomas D C. Maier AB, Stijntjes M, Vartanian R, Wagenaar RC. Monitoring walking and cycling of middle-aged to older community dwellers using wireless wearable accelerometers. Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2012;2012:158–61. doi: 10.1109/EMBC.2012.6345895.
    1. Orendurff MS, Schoen JA, Bernatz GC, Segal AD, Klute GK. How humans walk: bout duration, steps per bout, and rest duration. J Rehabil Res Dev. 2008;45(7):1077–89.
    1. Cavanaugh JT, Coleman KL, Gaines JM, Laing L, Morey MC. Using step activity monitoring to characterize ambulatory activity in community-dwelling older adults. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2007 Jan;55(1):120–4. doi: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2006.00997.x.
    1. Valenti G, Bonomi AG, Westerterp KR. Body Acceleration as Indicator for Walking Economy in an Ageing Population. PLoS One. 2015;10(10):e0141431. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0141431.
    1. Bonomi AG, Plasqui G, Goris Annelies H C. Westerterp KR. Estimation of free-living energy expenditure using a novel activity monitor designed to minimize obtrusiveness. Obesity (Silver Spring) 2010 Sep;18(9):1845–51. doi: 10.1038/oby.2010.34.
    1. Westerterp KR, Wouters L, van Marken Lichtenbelt W D The Maastricht protocol for the measurement of body composition and energy expenditure with labeled water. Obes Res. 1995 Mar;3 Suppl 1:49–57.
    1. Schoeller DA, Ravussin E, Schutz Y, Acheson KJ, Baertschi P, Jéquier E. Energy expenditure by doubly labeled water: validation in humans and proposed calculation. Am J Physiol. 1986 May;250(5 Pt 2):R823–30.
    1. Rothenberg EM. Resting, activity and total energy expenditure at age 91-96 compared to age 73. J Nutr Health Aging. 2002 May;6(3):177–8.
    1. Meijer EP, Goris Annelies H C. van Dongen Joost L J. Bast A, Westerterp KR. Exercise-induced oxidative stress in older adults as a function of habitual activity level. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2002 Feb;50(2):349–53.
    1. Yamada Y, Noriyasu R, Yokoyama K, Osaki T, Adachi T, Itoi A, Morimoto T, Oda S, Kimura M. Association between lifestyle and physical activity level in the elderly: a study using doubly labeled water and simplified physical activity record. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2013 Oct;113(10):2461–71. doi: 10.1007/s00421-013-2682-z.
    1. Sartini C, Wannamethee SG, Iliffe S, Morris RW, Ash S, Lennon L, Whincup PH, Jefferis BJ. Diurnal patterns of objectively measured physical activity and sedentary behaviour in older men. BMC Public Health. 2015;15:609. doi: 10.1186/s12889-015-1976-y.
    1. Chastin Sebastien Francois Martin. Ferriolli E, Stephens NA, Fearon Ken C H. Greig C. Relationship between sedentary behaviour, physical activity, muscle quality and body composition in healthy older adults. Age Ageing. 2012 Jan;41(1):111–4. doi: 10.1093/ageing/afr075.
    1. VanSwearingen JM, Studenski SA. Aging, motor skill, and the energy cost of walking: implications for the prevention and treatment of mobility decline in older persons. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2014 Nov;69(11):1429–36. doi: 10.1093/gerona/glu153.
    1. Fritz S, Lusardi M. White paper: "walking speed: the sixth vital sign". J Geriatr Phys Ther. 2009;32(2):46–9.
    1. Colpani V, Oppermann K, Spritzer PM. Association between habitual physical activity and lower cardiovascular risk in premenopausal, perimenopausal, and postmenopausal women: a population-based study. Menopause. 2013 May;20(5):525–31. doi: 10.1097/GME.0b013e318271b388.
    1. Jennersjö P, Ludvigsson J, Länne T, Nystrom FH, Östgren CJ. Pedometer-determined physical activity level and change in arterial stiffness in Type 2 diabetes over 4 years. Diabet Med. 2015 Jul 30; doi: 10.1111/dme.12873.
    1. Sperandio EF, Arantes RL, Matheus AC, Silva RP, Lauria VT, Romiti M, Gagliardi A R T. Dourado VZ. Intensity and physiological responses to the 6-minute walk test in middle-aged and older adults: a comparison with cardiopulmonary exercise testing. Braz J Med Biol Res. 2015 Apr;48(4):349–53. doi: 10.1590/1414-431X20144235.
    1. Melanson EL, Keadle SK, Donnelly JE, Braun B, King NA. Resistance to exercise-induced weight loss: compensatory behavioral adaptations. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2013 Aug;45(8):1600–9. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0b013e31828ba942.
    1. Garland T, Schutz H, Chappell MA, Keeney BK, Meek TH, Copes LE, Acosta W, Drenowatz C, Maciel RC, van DG, Kotz CM, Eisenmann JC. The biological control of voluntary exercise, spontaneous physical activity and daily energy expenditure in relation to obesity: human and rodent perspectives. J Exp Biol. 2011 Jan 15;214(Pt 2):206–29. doi: 10.1242/jeb.048397.
    1. Westerterp KR. Pattern and intensity of physical activity. Nature. 2001 Mar 29;410(6828):539. doi: 10.1038/35069142.
    1. Serwe KM, Swartz AM, Hart TL, Strath SJ. Effectiveness of long and short bout walking on increasing physical activity in women. J Womens Health (Larchmt) 2011 Feb;20(2):247–53. doi: 10.1089/jwh.2010.2019.
    1. Healy GN, Matthews CE, Dunstan DW, Winkler Elisabeth A H. Owen N. Sedentary time and cardio-metabolic biomarkers in US adults: NHANES 2003-06. Eur Heart J. 2011 Mar;32(5):590–7. doi: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehq451.
    1. Healy GN, Dunstan DW, Salmon J, Cerin E, Shaw JE, Zimmet PZ, Owen N. Breaks in sedentary time: beneficial associations with metabolic risk. Diabetes Care. 2008 Apr;31(4):661–6. doi: 10.2337/dc07-2046.
    1. Bonomi AG, Plasqui G, Goris A H C. Westerterp KR. Improving assessment of daily energy expenditure by identifying types of physical activity with a single accelerometer. J Appl Physiol (1985) 2009 Sep;107(3):655–61. doi: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00150.2009.
    1. Gyllensten IC, Bonomi AG. Identifying types of physical activity with a single accelerometer: evaluating laboratory-trained algorithms in daily life. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng. 2011 Sep;58(9):2656–63. doi: 10.1109/TBME.2011.2160723.
    1. Sazonova N, Browning R, Melanson E, Sazonov E. Posture and activity recognition and energy expenditure prediction in a wearable platform. Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2014;2014:4163–7. doi: 10.1109/EMBC.2014.6944541.
    1. Liu S, Gao RX, John D, Staudenmayer J, Freedson PS. Classification of physical activities based on sparse representation. Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2012;2012:6200–3. doi: 10.1109/EMBC.2012.6347410.

Source: PubMed

Sponsorer og samarbejdspartnere

Medicinske tilstande

Narkotikainterventioner

3
Abonner