title: Physical Performance and Physical Activity in Older Adults: Associated but Separate Domains of Physical Function in Old Age.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Physical function is a crucial factor in the prevention and treatment of health conditions in older adults and is usually measured objectively with physical performance tests and/or physical activity monitoring.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To examine whether 1) physical performance (PP) and physical activity (PA) constitute separate domains of physical function; 2) differentiation of PA classes is more informative than overall PA.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional study to explore the relationships within and among PP and PA measures.
  
  
  METHODS
  In 49 older participants (83 ± 7 years; M ± SD), performance-based tests were conducted and PA was measured for one week. Activity monitor data were reduced in terms of duration, periods, and mean duration of periods of lying, sitting, standing and locomotion. The relation between and within PP scores and PA outcomes were analysed using rank order correlation and factor analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Factor structure after varimax rotation revealed two orthogonal factors explaining 78% of the variance in the data: one comprising all PA variables and one comprising all PP variables. PP scores correlated moderately with PA in daily life. Differentiation of activity types and quantification of their duration, intensity and frequency of occurrence provided stronger associations with PP, as compared to a single measure of acceleration expressing overall PA.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  For independent validation, the conclusions about the validity of the presented conceptual framework and its clinical implications need to be confirmed in other studies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  PP and PA represent associated but separate domains of physical function, suggesting that an improvement of PP does not automatically imply an increase of PA, i.e. a change to a more active lifestyle. Differentiation of activity classes in the analysis of PA provides more insights into PA and its association with PP than using a single overall measure of acceleration.
authors.affiliation: McRoberts BV, Raamweg 43, 2596 HN The Hague, The Netherlands.|MOVE Research Institute Amsterdam, Department of Human Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Rob C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: van Lummel
authors.affiliation: McRoberts BV, Raamweg 43, 2596 HN The Hague, The Netherlands.|The Hague University of Applied Sciences, Movement Technology, The Hague, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Walgaard
authors.affiliation: MOVE Research Institute Amsterdam, Department of Human Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Mirjam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pijnappels
authors.affiliation: EMGO+, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Petra J M
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Elders
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), Barcelona, Spain.|CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Barcelona, Spain.|Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Departament de Ciències Experimentals i de la Salut, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Garcia-Aymerich
authors.affiliation: MOVE Research Institute Amsterdam, Department of Human Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Jaap H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: van Dieën
authors.affiliation: MOVE Research Institute Amsterdam, Department of Human Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Peter J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Beek
mesh_terms: D000054:Acceleration; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*