title: Older adults' favorite activities are resoundingly active: findings from the NHATS study.
abstract: Activity is associated with health among older adults yet older adults' favorite activities have rarely been investigated. We analyzed the community dwelling, cognitively-intact sample of NHATS, a nationally representative sample of adults ≥ 65, who had named their favorite activities (N = 5247). Logistic regression models estimated the odds of choosing a physical activity controlling for demographics, self-rated health, and disability. For all ages, four of the top five most common favorite activities were active: walking/jogging (14%), outdoor maintenance (13%), playing sports (8.9%), and other physical activity (8.7%). These findings sustain in 65-75 year olds. Even in 80-84 year olds, 3 of the top five activities are active. These findings vary by self-rated health (OR = 0.71, p < 0.001), disability (OR = 0.72, p < 0.001) and gender (OR = 0.52, p < 0.001). Policy makers, clinicians, and urban planners can use these results in their work.
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins University, School of Nursing, USA; Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, USA. Electronic address: sszanto1@jhu.edu.
authors.forename: Sarah L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Szanton
authors.affiliation: University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA.
authors.forename: Rachel K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Walker
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins University, School of Nursing, USA.
authors.forename: Laken
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Roberts
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, USA.
authors.forename: Roland J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Thorpe
authors.affiliation: University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wolff
authors.affiliation: University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA; Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, USA.
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Agree
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, Johns Hopkins University, USA.
authors.forename: David L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Roth
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins University, School of Nursing, USA; Department of Sociology, Johns Hopkins University, USA.
authors.forename: Laura N
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Gitlin
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, USA; University of Rochester, USA.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Seplaki
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D011998:Recreation; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012649:Self Concept; D014481:United States
keywords: Activities; Participation; Physical activity