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Aerobic Activity Preferences among Older Canadians: A Time Use Perspective*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 October 2013

Jamie E. L. Spinney
Jamie E. L. Spinney*
Affiliation:
Saint Mary’s University
*
†Correspondence and requests for offprints should be sent to / La correspondance et les demandes de tirés-à-part doivent être adressées à: Jamie E. L. Spinney, Ph.D. Department of Geography Saint Mary’s University 923 Robie Street Halifax, NS B3H 3C3 (jamie.spinney@smu.ca)
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Abstract

Numerous health benefits are associated with a physically active population. This study sought to discover the aerobic activity preferences among older Canadians. Four cycles of nationally representative time use data were fused with energy expenditure information to determine both participation rates and time spent in the 10 most frequently reported aerobic activities. Aerobic activity preferences are dominated by domestic chores (15% to 30% participation for about two hours per day), recreational walking (15% to 30% participation for about one hour per day), and active transportation (generally less than 5% participation for less than 30 minutes per day). Although there have been several changes in older Canadians’ revealed preferences for aerobic activities over the past three decades, the prevalence of domestic chores points towards the importance of policies that support older Canadians remaining in their homes, whereas the popularity of walking suggests that “walkability” needs to be considered in neighbourhood design.

Résumé

Une population physiquement active jouit de nombreux avantages pour la santé. Cette étude visait à découvrir les préférences de l’activité aérobie chez les Canadiens âgés. Quatre cycles de données indiquant l’usage national représentatif de temps ont été fusionnées avec des informations sur la dépense d’énergie pour déterminer les taux de participation et le temps consacré en dix activités aérobiques les plus fréquemment rapportées. Les activités préférés sont dominées par les tâches ménagères (15% à 30%, la participation d’environ deux heures par jour), la marche de loisirs (15% a 30%, la parti-cipation d’environ une heure par jour), et le transport actif (généralement moins de 5% de participation pendant moins de trente minutes par jour). Bien que plusieurs modifications ont été révelées dans les préferences de Canadiens plus âgés pour les activités aérobiques au cours des trois dernières décennies, la prévalence de tâches domestiques vise à l’importance des politiques qui soutiennent que les Canadiens plus âgés resteront dans leurs maisons, alors que la popularité de la marche suggère que le potentiel de rester « piétonnier » doit être pris en compte dans la conception des quartiers.

Keywords

agingCanadabehaviourexercisewalkingvieillissmentCanadacomportementexercice (activité physique)marche
Type
Research Note / Note de recherche
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 32 , Issue 4 , December 2013 , pp. 443 - 451
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 2013 

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Footnotes

*

This research received financial support from the Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation (PSO: Project-2008-4669).

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