Prevalence of and factors associated with leisure-time physical activity in older adults from seven Brazilian cities: data from the FIBRA study

Abstract

Leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) is an important factor in promoting and maintaining adequate health status and quality of life in old age. Here we aimed to identify the prevalence and factors associated with different modalities of LTPA among 3,478 older adults (mean age: 72.96 ± 6.01 years; 67.7% female) from seven cities of different regions of Germany. We compared categorical variables (gender, age and family income) between groups using the Chi-square test or Fisher’s exact test. Walking was the most commonly reported activity undertaken by participants (43.4%). Men reported performing a larger number of LTPA modalities than women. Outdoor gymnastics and water gymnastics were the most commonly cited LTPA by women. Younger age and higher income correlated with higher levels of physical activity. Our findings indicate that a physically active behavior is closely related to the living conditions, social roles and physical health of this population. Thus, public policies encouraging LTPA among older adults should take their gender, age and social status, as well as the type of activities to be offered, into consideration.