title: Social participation and maintaining recommended waist circumference: prospective evidence from the English Longitudinal Study of Aging.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate whether older adults participating in social activities are more likely to maintain or achieve recommended waist circumference (WC) levels.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 4,280 older adults who participated in Wave 2 (baseline) and Wave 4 (follow-up) of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. WC was measured by a nurse in both study waves.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Participation in education, arts, music groups, evening classes, and in charitable associations was associated with maintaining recommended WC only in those men whose WC was in the recommended range at baseline. Participation in social activities was not associated with achieving recommended WC in women or men with initially large waist.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Participation in cultural and charitable activities may help in maintaining a recommended level of WC in older men with WC originally in the recommended range.
authors.affiliation: Warsaw School of Social Sciences and Humanities, Wroclaw, Poland. anne.kouvonen@gmail.com
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kouvonen
authors.forename: Judy Anne
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Swift
authors.forename: Mai
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stafford
authors.forename: Tom
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Cox
authors.forename: Jussi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vahtera
authors.forename: Ari
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Väänänen
authors.forename: Tarja
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Heponiemi
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: De Vogli
authors.forename: Amanda
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Griffiths
authors.forename: Mika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kivimäki
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004739:England; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D058992:Social Participation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055105:Waist Circumference