title: Low-intensity walking activity is associated with better health.
abstract: Recommended levels of physical activity may represent challenging targets for many older adults at risk for disability, leading to the importance of evaluating whether low-intensity activity is associated with health benefits. We examined the cross-sectional association between low-intensity walking activity (<100 steps/min) and health and physical function in a group of older adults. Participants (N = 187; age = 66.8; 91.4% African American; 76.5% female) wore a StepWatch Activity Monitor to measure components of low-intensity walking activity. Only 7% of participants met physical activity guidelines and moderate-intensity activity (≥100 steps/min) contributed only 10% of the total steps/day and 2% of the total min/day. Greater amount, frequency, and duration of low-intensity activity were associated with better self-report and performance-based measures of physical function, better quality of life, and fewer depressive symptoms (ps < .05). The cross-sectional relationship between low-intensity activity and health outcomes important to independent function suggests that we further explore the longitudinal benefits of low-intensity activity.
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins Center on Aging and Health, Baltimore, MD, USA Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA vvarma@jhsph.edu.
authors.forename: Vijay R
authors.initials: VR
authors.lastname: Varma
authors.affiliation: The Corporation for National and Community Service, Washington, DC, USA.
authors.forename: Erwin J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins Center on Aging and Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins Center on Aging and Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Qian-Li
authors.initials: QL
authors.lastname: Xue
authors.affiliation: Columbia University, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Linda P
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Fried
authors.affiliation: University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Christopher L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Seplaki
authors.affiliation: Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Abby C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: King
authors.affiliation: University of California, Los Angeles, USA.
authors.forename: Teresa E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Seeman
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins Center on Aging and Health, Baltimore, MD, USA Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: George W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Rebok
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins Center on Aging and Health, Baltimore, MD, USA Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Michelle C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Carlson
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018670:Monitoring, Ambulatory; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011788:Quality of Life; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D016138:Walking / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: African Americans; low-intensity activity; mobility; physical activity; walking