Lazy Sundays: role of day of the week and reactivity on objectively measured physical activity in older people

• Published in: European review of aging and physical activity Vol. 16; no. 1; p. 18
• Main Authors: Klenk, Jochen, Peter, Raphael Simon, Rapp, Kilian, Dallmeier, Dhayana, Rothenbacher, Dietrich, Denkinger, Michael, Büchele, Gisela, Becker, T, Böhm, B, Scharffetter-Kochanek, K, Stingl, J, Koenig, W, Riepe, M, Peter, R, Geiger, H, Ludolph, A, von Arnim, C, Nagel, G, Weinmayr, G, Steinacker, J M, Laszlo, R
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany BioMed Central 27-10-2019
• Subjects: Short Report; Measurement; Reactivity; Physical activity; Older people; Research methods
• ISSN: 1813-7253; 1861-6909
• DOI: 10.1186/s11556-019-0226-1

The aim of this study was to assess the effect of day of the week and wearing a device (reactivity) on objectively measured physical activity (PA) in older people.
Walking duration as a measure for PA was recorded from 1333 German community-dwelling older people (≥65 years, 43.8% women) over 5 days using accelerometers (activPAL). Least-square means of PA with 95%-confidence intervals (95%-CI) from multi-level analysis were calculated for each day of the week and each measurement day (days after sensor attachment).
Walking duration on Sundays was significantly lower compared to working days (Sunday vs. Monday-Friday: - 12.8 min (95%-CI: - 14.7; - 10.9)). No statistically significant difference compared to working days was present for Saturdays. The linear slope for measurement day and walking duration was marginal and not statistically significant.
Studies using PA sensors in older people should assess Sundays and working days to adequately determine the activity level of the participants.