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Socio-demographic correlates of physical activity among European older people

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Abstract

From a public health perspective, identifying factors related to attaining the physical activity (PA) recommendations is important in order to identify subgroups for intervention programs. The aim of this study is to identify the socio-demographic correlates of attaining the recommended levels of PA in the older European population. Using data from the European Social Survey round 6, PA and socio-demographic characteristics were collected from 10,148 participants (4556 men, 5592 women), aged 65 years and over, from 28 countries in 2012. PA was accessed using the question “On how many of the last seven days did you walk quickly, do sports, or other PA for 30 min or longer?” and meeting PA guidelines was assessed using World Health Organization criteria. Overall, 59.7% of the participants attained the PA-recommended levels. The likelihood of attaining PA recommendations was higher among older people with higher education levels (p <��0.05; p < 0.01; p < 0.001). Men who lived in a town or small city (p < 0.05) and lived in a rural area (p < 0.001) were more likely to attain the PA recommendations. Women who lived with a partner were more likely to attain the PA recommendations (p < 0.001). Promotion of PA is critical to health among older people; therefore, intervention programs must consider these socio-demographic factors when planning an increase in PA.

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Acknowledgements

Authors thank Professor Bruce Jones for revising the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculdade de Motricidade Humana, Universidade de Lisboa, Estrada da Costa, Cruz Quebrada, Dafundo, 1499-002, Lisbon, Portugal

    Miguel Peralta

  2. Laboratório de Pedagogia, Faculdade de Motricidade Humana e UIDEF, Instituto de Educação, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal

    João Martins

  3. Faculdade de Educação Física e Desporto, Universidade Lusófona de Humanidades e Tecnologias, Lisbon, Portugal

    João Martins

  4. Center for Research in Health Sciences, University of Northern Parana, Londrina, Brazil

    Dartagnan Pinto Guedes

  5. Sport and Physical Activity Research Centre (CIDAF), Faculty of Sport Sciences and Physhical Education, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal

    Hugo Sarmento

  6. Centro Interdisciplinar de Estudo da Performance Humana, Faculdade de Motricidade Humana, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal

    Adilson Marques

  7. Centro de Investigação em Saúde Pública, Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal

    Adilson Marques

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  1. Miguel Peralta
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  4. Hugo Sarmento
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Correspondence to Miguel Peralta.

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Responsible editor: D.J.H. Deeg.

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Peralta, M., Martins, J., Guedes, D.P. et al. Socio-demographic correlates of physical activity among European older people. Eur J Ageing 15, 5–13 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10433-017-0430-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10433-017-0430-7

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