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• Harvey, JA.
• Chastin, SF. M.
• Skelton, DA.
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• Harvey, JA.
• Chastin, SF. M.
• Skelton, DA.
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• Harvey, JA.
• Chastin, SF. M.
• Skelton, DA.

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Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2013, 10(12), 6645-6661; doi:10.3390/ijerph10126645

Review

Prevalence of Sedentary Behavior in Older Adults: A Systematic Review

Juliet A. Harvey * , Sebastien F. M. Chastin ^† and Dawn A. Skelton ^†

School of Health Sciences, Institute of Applied Health Research, Glasgow Caledonian University, Cowcaddens Road, Glasgow G4 0BA, UK ^† These authors contributed equally to this work.

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received: 12 September 2013; in revised form: 1 November 2013 / Accepted: 18 November 2013 / Published: 2 December 2013

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Health Care for Old People)

Download PDF Full-Text [348 KB, uploaded 2 December 2013 11:51 CET]

Abstract: Sedentary behavior is a cluster of behaviors adopted in a sitting or lying posture where little energy is being expended. Sedentary behavior is a risk factor for health independent to inactivity. Currently, there are no published systematic reviews on the prevalence of sedentary behavior objectively measured in, or subjectively reported by, older adults. The aim of this systematic review was to collect and analyze published literature relating to reported prevalence of sedentary behavior, written in English, on human adults, where subjects aged 60 years and over were represented in the study. 23 reports covered data from 18 surveys sourced from seven countries. It was noted that sedentary behavior is defined in different ways by each survey. The majority of surveys included used self-report as a measurement of sedentary behavior. Objective measurements were also captured with the use of body worn accelerometers. Whether measurements are subjective or objective, the majority of older adults are sedentary. Almost 60% of older adult’s reported sitting for more than 4 h per day, 65% sit in front of a screen for more than 3 h daily and over 55% report watching more than 2 h of TV. However, when measured objectively in a small survey, it was found that 67% of the older population were sedentary for more than 8.5 h daily.

Keywords: sedentary; prevalence; aging; older adults; sitting; television; review

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