Adherence of Physical Activity Recommendations and Socio-Demographic Correlates in Older Adults in Kandy District

Abstract

This study aimed to estimate the proportion of the population adhering to the physical activity (PA) recommendation and examine the influence of socio-demographic correlates on reaching the recommendation in older adults. One hundred (n=100) older adults’(Over 65 years) in Kandy district were selected and their PA was measured using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire long-form, and socio-demographic factors were collected through interviews. Physical activity levels (PAL) and significant association between socio-demographic correlates were studied using chi-square and compared with fisher pairwise comparison using mini tab 18 software. Results indicate that 38% of older adults adhered to PA recommendation of the World Health Organization (2020). Gender (r=46.23, p=0.000) and Employment (r=9.158, p=0.002) were significantly correlated with the PAL of the older adults. The one-way ANOVA and fisher pairwise comparison results revealed that moderately active females had significantly higher PA than moderately active males, while low physically active males and females had significantly low PA compared to moderately active males and females (F(3)=87.2, p=0.000). Further, moderately active older adults showed significantly higher PA than employed and unemployed low physically active older adults (F(2)=124, p=0.000). The comparison of PAL with self-perceived health and body mass index (BMI) revealed that the majority of the older adults insufficiently adhered to but had healthy BMI and good self-perceived health (22%). However, most of the older adults (76%) were in a healthy nutritional status, a majority (70%) perceived their health as good or excellent levels.