Predictors of physical activity in community-dwelling elderly white women

OBJECTIVE: To describe patterns of physical activity and to determine facto rs associated with engaging in regular exercise, especially walking, in eld erly white women. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study of 9,442 independently living elderly white w omen aged 65 years and over participating in the Study of Osteoporotic Frac tures. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: We studied the association between lifestyle habits, social factors, health status and self-reported physical activity (assessed by modified Paffenbarger scale) during the past twelve months. Wa lking was the most common form of exercise: 4,837 (51%) women reported doin g so a mean of 12 (SD = 10) blocks per day, 3.9 (SD = 2.9) times per week. Other common activities were gardening (35%), swimming (16%), and bicycling (13%). Less than a third of women reported engaging in medium- or high-int ensity exercise in the past year. In a multivariate age-adjusted analysis, factors independently (P < .01) associated with walking for exercise includ ed greater than high school education (52%vs48%), history of physical activ ity for exercise at ages 30 years (51% vs 46%) and 50 years (51% vs 45%), a nd stronger social network (51% vs 47%). Women who were current smokers, ob ese, or depressed were less likely to take walks for exercise. Marital stat us, self-reported arthritis, current estrogen use, and a history of falls i n the past year were not independently associated with taking walks for exe rcise. CONCLUSIONS: In this healthy cohort, walking for exercise is associated wit h other positive health behaviors. Given the mounting evidence about the he alth benefits of walking, and since many of these community dwelling women can and do walk for exercise, but rarely engage in other common prescribed physical activities, clinicians might best focus their efforts on encouragi ng walking.