Patterns of Weekday and Weekend Sedentary Behavior Among Older Adults

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare estimates of sedentary time on weekdays vs. weekend days in older adults and determine if these patterns vary by measurement method. Older adults (N = 230, M = 83.5, SD = 6.5 years) living in retirement communities completed a questionnaire about sedentary behavior and wore an ActiGraph accelerometer for seven days. Participants engaged in 9.4 (SD = 1.5) hr per day of accelerometer-measured sedentary time, but self-reported engaging in 11.4 (SD = 4.9) hr per day. Men and older participants had more accelerometer-measured sedentary time than their counterparts. The difference between accelerometer-measured weekday and weekend sedentary time was nonsignificant. However, participants self-reported 1.1 hr per day more sedentary time on weekdays compared with weekend days. Findings suggest self-reported but not accelerometer-measured sedentary time should be investigated separately for weekdays and weekend days, and that self-reports may overestimate sedentary time in older adults.