Objective and Self-reported Assessment of Physical Activity of Women over 60 Years Old

Abstract

AbstractThe aim of the study was to examine changes in objective and self-reported physical activity (PA) among women aged 60 years and older. The study included 200 women aged over 60 years, divided into three groups according to age (60–65 years, 66–70 years, > 70 years). The subjective assessment was provided with the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) – short version with self-reported PA assessment, and objective data was provided by an Actigraph GT3-BT worn for seven days. Significant differences in moderate and high intensity PA, moderate-to-vigorous PA and steps per day were found between the oldest and youngest groups; as well as in low, moderate, moderate-to-vigorous PA and steps per day between groups middle and oldest. In all three age groups, 1) significant differences were observed between subjective and objective measurements of physical activity and 2) no correlation was found between assessment measures. It was found that only direct PA measurement declined with age in women over 60 years old, and that sedentary behavior is underestimated, and moderate and vigorous PA overestimated, with the self-reported IPAQ.