Do older adults spend more time walking for everyday errands than for exercise, and which health problems are linked to less walking?

Details

The study investigated how utilitarian walking—walking for everyday practical purposes—and walking for exercise were associated with socio-demographic, clinical and functional characteristics.

This was a cross-sectional exploratory study of 148 older adults aged 60 and over. Walking frequency and duration were assessed using the IPEQ-W (Incidental and Planned Exercise Questionnaire - Version W). Socio-demographic characteristics, clinical conditions, level of disability and mobility were also assessed. The researchers used the Mann-Whitney test to compare walking types across the variables, and non-parametric Spearman rho correlations to investigate associations between walking types and the variables.

Participants averaged 1.1 (±2.1) hours/week of walking for exercise and 2.2 (±2.3) hours/week of utilitarian walking. Older adults with diabetes spent fewer hours/week walking for exercise (p=0.015).

Less time spent on utilitarian walking was associated with older age (p=0.014), poor self-rated health (p<0.001), unfavorable disability levels (p<0.001), hypertension (p=0.048), strokes (p<0.001), heart disease (p=0.026), urinary incontinence (p<0.001), dizziness (p=0.008) and sleep disorders (p=0.042). Correlations between the assessed characteristics and the types of walking ranged from very weak to weak.

The authors concluded that chronic diseases and unfavorable health conditions were linked to reduced walking time. They identified utilitarian walking as the most frequent type of walking performed by these older adults. They recommended that health care professionals and public policy managers use utilitarian walking as a way to increase physical activity levels and promote healthy aging.