Assessing physical activity levels of elderly Malays living in semi-rural areas using tri-axial accelerometer

Ahmad Munir C. M., . and Brown W. J., . and Singh Rabindarjeet, . and Nurdiana A., . and Clark B., . Assessing physical activity levels of elderly Malays living in semi-rural areas using tri-axial accelerometer. pp. 363-374. ISSN 1394-035X

Background: Population-based physical activity (PA) data are lacking in multicultural South East Asia. Malaysian elderly Malays for example are occupied daily with religious and community activities. Those living in rural areas also have a distinctively different lifestyle in terms of walking habits and leisure-time activities compared to people from urban areas. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 146 community-dwelling Malay adults aged 60 to 85 years (mean (SD) 67.6 (6.4) years) living in semi-rural areas in Seberang Perai Utara Penang Malaysia. Each participant was interviewed using a questionnaire for their socio-economic background and self-reported PA levels. Then the participants were invited to wear an accelerometer (ActiGraph GT3X or GT3X) during their waking hours for seven consecutive days. Results: Daily activity patterns of the participants were dominated by sedentary time (7.9 (SD 2.1) hours/day; 52 of wear time) and light intensity activity (7.0 (1.9) hours/day; 46 of wear time). The participants spent 24 (SD 30) minutes daily in health enhancing (i.e. moderatevigorous intensity) activities. Men spent significantly more time in higher intensity acti-vities than women. Average daily step count was more than 10 000 (mean 12 542 4 857) steps/day. Conclusion: Based on the accelerometer counts these elderly Malay participants were assessed to be sedentary for most of the time during the day though their daily step count exceeded 10 000 on average. Community-living older adults especially women should be encouraged to increase their physical activity levels.

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Abstract

Background: Population-based physical activity (PA) data are lacking in multicultural South East Asia. Malaysian elderly Malays for example are occupied daily with religious and community activities. Those living in rural areas also have a distinctively different lifestyle in terms of walking habits and leisure-time activities compared to people from urban areas. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 146 community-dwelling Malay adults aged 60 to 85 years (mean (SD) 67.6 (6.4) years) living in semi-rural areas in Seberang Perai Utara Penang Malaysia. Each participant was interviewed using a questionnaire for their socio-economic background and self-reported PA levels. Then the participants were invited to wear an accelerometer (ActiGraph GT3X or GT3X) during their waking hours for seven consecutive days. Results: Daily activity patterns of the participants were dominated by sedentary time (7.9 (SD 2.1) hours/day; 52 of wear time) and light intensity activity (7.0 (1.9) hours/day; 46 of wear time). The participants spent 24 (SD 30) minutes daily in health enhancing (i.e. moderatevigorous intensity) activities. Men spent significantly more time in higher intensity acti-vities than women. Average daily step count was more than 10 000 (mean 12 542 4 857) steps/day. Conclusion: Based on the accelerometer counts these elderly Malay participants were assessed to be sedentary for most of the time during the day though their daily step count exceeded 10 000 on average. Community-living older adults especially women should be encouraged to increase their physical activity levels.

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Item Type:	Article
AGROVOC Term:	Physical activity
AGROVOC Term:	Elderly
AGROVOC Term:	Senior citizens
AGROVOC Term:	Questionnaires
AGROVOC Term:	Interviews
AGROVOC Term:	Sampling
AGROVOC Term:	Measurement
AGROVOC Term:	Experimental device
AGROVOC Term:	Data analysis
AGROVOC Term:	Rural areas
Depositing User:	Mr. AFANDI ABDUL MALEK
Last Modified:	24 Apr 2025 00:53
URI:	http://webagris.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/7853

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