No abstract

This study describes relationships between awareness of physical activity (PA) promotion and duration of PA and sedentary behavior (SB) in elderly Japanese. Following a community-wide intervention, 874 individuals 65 years or over were selected via population-based random sampling of 3,000 adults aged 20 years or over living in Fujisawa City, and asked to complete self-administered questionnaires; 550 responded and 373 with data on pertinent variables were included. Forty-eight percent (179/373) stated that they recognized elements of the Japanese PA guidelines such as the "Active Guide" and "+10 (plus ten)." The median duration of PA, of intensity at least equal to walking, and SB among all participants were 100 minutes/ day and 300 minutes/day, respectively. Duration of PA did not significantly differ by promotion awareness (Odds Ratio (OR) for ≥100 minutes/day among those aware = 1.02, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) = 0.65-1.62); however, duration of SB did (OR for <300 minutes/day = 1.60, 95% CI = 1.01-2.53). Awareness of PA promotion in elderly Japanese is related to decreased SB, but not increased PA of intensity at least equal to walking.

We aimed to evaluate the associations of individual-level social capital (SC) and physical activity (PA) among Japanese elderly men and women. Individuals aged 65 or above were selected via population-based random sampling of 3000 adults, aged 20 years or above and living in Fujisawa city, who were asked to complete self-administered questionnaires. The sample consisted of 260 men [median (25-75% tile) age 73 (68-78) yrs] and 274 women [73 (68-78) yrs]. The daily duration of PA, SC [e.g., norms of reciprocity (mutual support in the community), social networks (relationship with community people, exchange with other generations), social participation (participation in community organization activities)], socio-economic status [educational attainment, work with income, perceived household economic status], and demographic characteristics [sex, age, living arrangements, BMI, physical limitations] were assessed. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to calculate odds ratios (OR) for associations of SC with PA, stratified by sex. High level of mutual support in the community, relationship with community people, and exchange with other generations were associated with longer PA time in men after adjusting for potential confounders in the final model (OR = 2.40 (95% CI: 1.24-4.67), 5.28 (1.42-19.66), and 4.24 (1.15-15.67), respectively). In women, relationship with community people and participation in community organization activities were associated with longer PA time (3.10 (1.32-7.26) and 2.50 (1.27-4.91), respectively). The association of individual-level SC and PA differed between men and women. Future studies can investigate whether similar results can be obtained in other areas or attempt to conduct a large-scale survey.

No abstract

No abstract