Top

Journal of Public Health

Published in:

01-02-2012 | Original Article

Age and exercise: a theoretical and empirical analysis of the effect of age and generation on physical activity

Authors: Thomas Klein, Simone Becker

Published in: Journal of Public Health | Issue 1/2012

Abstract

Aim

The well-documented association of reductions in physical activity with age is based largely on cross-sectional studies that do not distinguish between prevalence of physical activity and initiation/discontinuation patterns. These studies also fail to consider the changes in physical activity as a function of life stage. We investigated how physical activity evolves over a lifetime. We distinguished between prevalence and initiation/discontinuation patterns and also considered multidirectional age effects.

Subject and methods

The analyses are based on the annual German Socio-Economic Panel survey, which originally involved 6,000 households (>12,000 individuals) from age 16. Our study included 3,487 subjects (West Germany), i.e., 33% of the individuals first interviewed in 1984. A survival analysis model was constructed to assess the simultaneous effect of age and generation, while adjusting for potential confounders.

Results

The results show that the ubiquitous differences in physical activity between age groups are mainly attributable to cohort differences, not age effects. The likelihood of initiating at least weekly physical activity declines with age, as does the likelihood of discontinuing an established exercise habit. Both trends are more readily explained by changes in occupational and family biography than by health and fitness.

Conclusion

The ubiquitous differences in physical activity between age groups are largely due to intergenerational differences.

The Gompertz model’s usefulness has been established in the analysis of monotonic biomedical aging processes. The model is widely used in the analysis of increasing lifetime mortality and morbidity (Heigl 2004; Klein and Unger 2002; Richards 2008). Gompertz himself explored age-related mortality. His view was that the increase in mortality with age was a consequence of exponentially diminishing functional performance (Lampert and Kroll 2005).

Panel mortality is a well-known methodological problem in panel data analysis. Panel mortality refers to loss of participants in the course of panel studies for reasons such as illness, death, relocation, or loss of motivation. As a result, subjects who took part in all the relevant waves are not a random selection. Elderly people tend to be underrepresented in the study population because of illness or death, along with individuals living a fairly discontinuous lifestyle (e.g., long periods spent abroad). However, rigorous panel management (e.g., subjects are followed up even after moving out of the original household) is done to minimize panel mortality (Haisken-DeNew and Frick 2005).

Although individuals in these groups were born before World War II, critical socialization took place during the wartime years.

Although most people in the 1936–1945 birth cohort were born during World War II, the critical socialization period was after the war.

Abele A, Brehm W (1990) Wer ist der „typische“ Fitneß-Sportler? Sportwissenschaft 2:4–32

Barker DJP (1998) Mothers, babies and health in later life. Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh

Bässler R (1990) Sportaktivität und Sportabstinenz. Spectrum Sportwiss 2:78–103

Beck N (2009) Ereignisanalyse. In: Kühl S, Strodtholz P, Taffertshofer A (eds) Handbuch Methoden der Sozialforschung. Quantitative und Qualitative Methoden. VS Verlag, Wiesbaden, pp 714–741

Becker S, Schneider S (2005) Analysen zur Sportbeteiligung auf der Basis des repräsentativen Bundes-Gesundheitssurveys 1998. Sport Ges 2:173–204

Bengtsson T, Lindstrom M (2000) Childhood misery and disease in later life: the effects on mortality in old age of hazards experienced in early life, southern Sweden, 1760–1894. Popul Stud (Camb) 54:263–277CrossRef

Bijnen FC, Feskens EJF, Caspersen CJ, Mosterd WL et al (1998) Age, period, and cohort effects on physical activity among elderly men during 10 years of follow-up: the Zutphen Elderly Study. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 53:M235–M241CrossRef

Boardley D, Fahlman M, Topp R, Morgan AL et al (2007) The impact of exercise training on blood lipids in older adults. Am J Geriatr Cardiol 16:30–35PubMedCrossRef

Blech J (2006) Fit wie in der Steinzeit. Der Spiegel 5/2006:134–145

Blossfeld HP, Rowher G (1995). Techniques of event history modeling. New approaches to causal analysis. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah

Boutelle KN, Murray DM, Jefferey RW, Hennrikus DJ, Lando HA (2000) Associations between exercise and health behaviors in a community sample of working adults. Prev Med 30:217–224PubMedCrossRef

Brach JS, Simonsick EM, Kritchevsky S, Yaffe K et al (2004) The association between physical function and lifestyle activity and exercise in the health, aging and body composition study. J Am Geriatr Soc 52:502–509PubMedCrossRef

Brändle M, Amann FW, Salomon F (1999) Diabetes mellitus Typ 2 und koronare Herzkrankheit. Schweiz Med Wochenschr 129:700–706PubMed

Breuer C (2005) Cohort effects in physical inactivity. A neglected category and its health economical implications. J Public Health 13:189–195CrossRef

Bröckling U (2008) Vorbeugen ist besser? Zur Soziologie der Prävention. Behemoth. A Journal on Civilisation 1:38–48CrossRef

Byberg L, Zethelius B, McKeigue PM, Lithell HO (2001) Changes in physical activity are associated with changes in metabolic cardiovascular risk factors. Diabetologia 44:2134–2139PubMedCrossRef

Byberg L, Melhus H, Gedeborg R, Sundström J, Ahllbom A, Zethelius B, Berglund LG, Wolk A, Michaëlsson K (2009) Total mortality after changes in leisure time physical activity in 50 year old men: 35 year follow-up of population based cohort. Br J Sports Med 43:482–490PubMed

Conrad P (1994) Wellness as virtue: mortality and the pursuit of health. Cult Med Psychiatry 18:385–401PubMedCrossRef

Costa DL (2000) Understanding the twentieth-century decline in chronic conditions among older men. Demography 37:53–72PubMedCrossRef

Crespo CJ, Ainsworth BE, Keteyian SJ, Heath GW, Smit E (1999) Prevalence of physical inactivity and its relation to social class in U.S. adults: results from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988–1994. Med Sci Sports Exerc 31:1821–1827PubMedCrossRef

Dai S, Marti B, Rickenbach M, Gutzwiller F (1990) Sport korreliert mit günstigen Lebensgewohnheiten - Ergebnisse der Bevölkerungsstudie des Schweizer MONICA-Projekts. Schweiz Z Sportmed 38:71–77PubMed

Diekmann A, Mitter P (1984) Methoden zur Analyse von Zeitverläufen. Anwendung stochastischer Prozesse bei der Analyse von Ereignisdaten. Teubner, Stuttgart

Dinkel RH (1999) Demographische Entwicklung und Gesundheitszustand. Eine empirische Kalkulation der Healthy Life Expectancy für die Bundesrepublik auf der Basis von Kohortensterbetafeln. In: Häfner H (ed) Gesundheit - unser höchstes Gut? Springer, Berlin, pp 61–84CrossRef

Droomers M, Schrijvers CTM, Van De Mheen H, Mackenbach JP (1998) Educational differences in leisure-time Pphysical inactivity: a descriptive and explanatory study. Soc Sci Med 47:1665–1676PubMedCrossRef

Erlinghagen M (2003) Wer treibt Sport im geteilten und vereinten Deutschland? Eine quantitative Analyse sozio-ökonomischer Determinanten des Breitensports. Graue Reihe des Instituts Arbeit und Technik. IAT, Gelsenkirchen

Gavrilova NS, Gavrilov LA, Evdokushkina GN, Semyonova VG (2003) Early-life predictors of human longevity: Aanalysis of the XIXth century birth cohorts. Ann Demogr Hist 106:177–198

Gregg EW (1996) Self-rated health and the spectrum of physical activity and physical function in older women. J Aging Phys Act 4:349–361

Haisken-DeNew JP, Frick JR (eds) (2000) DTC. Desktop Companion to the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (GSOEP), vol 3. Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Berlin

Haisken-DeNew JP, Frick JR (eds) (2005) DTC. Desktop Companion to the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (GSOEP), vol 3. Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Berlin

Heigl A (2004) Älter gleich kränker? BIB 111:41–49

Hirvensalo M, Lampinen P, Rantanen T (1998) Physical exercise in old age: an eight-year follow-up study on involvement, motives, and obstacles among persons age 65–84. J Aging Phys Act 6:168

Hollmann W, Hettinger T (2000) Sportmedizin: Grundlagen für Arbeit, Training und Präventivmedizin. Schattauer, Stuttgart

Hubert H, Bloch D, Oehlert J, Fries J (2002) Lifestyle habits and compression of morbidity. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 57:M347–M351PubMedCrossRef

Roberts RE, Deleger S, Strawbridge WJ, Kaplan GA (2003) Prospective association between obesity and depression: evidence from the Alameda County Study. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 27:514–521PubMedCrossRef

Katzmarzyk PT, Janssen I, Ardern CI (2003) Physical inactivity, excess adiposity and premature mortality. Obes Rev 4:257–290PubMedCrossRef

Klein T, Löwel H, Schneider S, Zimmermann M (2002) Soziale Beziehungen, Stress und Mortalität. Z Gerontol Geriatr 35(5):441–449PubMedCrossRef

Klein T, Unger R (2002) Aktive Lebenserwartung in Deutschland und in den USA. Kohortenbezogene Analysen auf Basis des Sozio-ökonomischen Panel und der Panel Study of Income Dynamics. Z Gerontol Geriatr 35:528–539PubMedCrossRef

Kokkinos PF, Narayan P, Papademetriou V (2001) Exercise as hypertension therapy. Cardiol Clin 19(3):507–516PubMedCrossRef

Kolt GS, Driver RP, Giles LC (2004) Why older Australians participate in exercise and sport. J Aging Phys Act 12:185–198PubMed

Lampert T, Kroll LE (2005) Einfluss der Einkommensposition auf die Gesundheit und Lebenserwartung. DIW, Berlin

Lamprecht M (1991) Sport und Lebensalter. ESSM, Magglingen

Leslie E, Owen N, Salmon J, Bauman A, Sallis JF, Lo SK (1999) Insufficiently active Australian college students: perceived personal, social, and environmental influences. Prev Med 28:20–27PubMedCrossRef

Lim K, Taylor L (2005) Factors associated with physical activity among older people—a population-based study. Prev Med 40:33–40PubMedCrossRef

Lindström M, Hanson B, Östergren P-O (2001) Socioeconomic differences in leisure-time physical activity: the role of social participation and social capital in shaping health related behaviour. Soc Sci Med 52:441–451PubMedCrossRef

Mensink GBM (1999) Körperliche Aktivität. Gesundheitswesen 61:126–131

Mensink GBM, Loose N, Oomen CM (1997) Physical activity and its association with other lifestyle factors. Eur J Epidemiol 13:771–778PubMedCrossRef

Meyer K, Niemann S, Abel T (2004) Gender differences in physical activity and fitness—association with self-reported health and health-relevant attitudes in a middle-aged Swiss urban population. J Public Health 12:283–290

Oddy WH, Holman CD, Corti B, Donovan RJ (1995) Epidemiological measures of participation in community health promotion projects. Int J Epidemiol 24:1013–1021PubMedCrossRef

Oldridge NB (1982) Compliance and exercise in primary and secondary prevention of coronary heart disease: a review. Prev Med 11:56–70PubMedCrossRef

Panagiotakos DE, Pitsavos C, Chrysohoo C, Skoumas J et al (2003) Effect of leisure time physical activity on blood lipid levels: the ATTICA study. Coron Artery Dis 14:533–539PubMedCrossRef

Patel KV, Coppin AK, Manini TM, Lauretani F et al (2006) Midlife physical activity and mobility in older age: The InCHIANTI study. Am J Prev Med 31:217–224PubMedCrossRef

Pescatello DE, Franklin BA, Fagard R, Farquhar R, Farquhar WB et al (2004) American College of Sports Medicine position stand. Exercise and hypertension. Med Sci Sports Exerc 36:533–553PubMedCrossRef

Pfaffenbarger RS, Hyde RT, Wing AL, Lee IM et al (1993) The associations of change in physical-activity level and other livestyle characteristics with mortality among men. N Engl J Med 328:538–545CrossRef

Ransdell LB, Wells CL (1998) Physical activity in urban white, African-American, and Mexican-American women. Med Sci Sports Exerc 30:1608–1615PubMedCrossRef

Richards SJ (2008) Applying survival models to pensioner mortality data. Br Actuarial J 14:257–303CrossRef

Rost K, Connell C, Schlechtman K, Barzilai B et al (1990) Predictors of employee involvement in a worksite health promotion program. Health Educ Q 17:395–407PubMedCrossRef

Ruchlin HS, Lachs MS (1999) Prevalence and correlates of exercise among older adults. J Appl Gerontol 18:341–357CrossRef

Sallis JF, Hovell MF, Hofstetter RC, Faucher P et al (1989) A multivariate study of determinants of vigorous exercise in a community sample. Prev Med 18:20–34PubMedCrossRef

Sallis JF, Owen N (1999) Physical activity & behavioral medicine. Sage, Thousand Oaks

Salmon J, Owen N, Crawford D, Bauman A, Sallis JF (2003) Physical activity and sedentary behavior: a population-based study of barriers, enjoyment, and preference. Health Psychol 22:178–188PubMedCrossRef

Schneider S, Becker S (2005) Prevalence of physical activity among the working population and correlation with work-related factors: results from the first German National Health Survey. J Occup Health 47:414–423PubMedCrossRef

Shaw BA, Spokane LS (2008) Examining the association between education level and physical activity changes during early old age. J Aging Health 20:767–787PubMedCrossRef

Shaw BA, Liang J, Krause N, Gallant M, McGeever K (2010) Age differences and social stratification in the long-term trajectories of leisure-time physical activity. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 65:756–766PubMedCrossRef

Sieverding M (1998) Sind Frauen weniger gesund als Männer? Überprüfung einer verbreiteten Annahme anhand neuerer Befunde. Köln Z Soziol Sozialpsychol 50:471–489

Sternfeld B, Ainsworth BE, Quesenberry CP (1999) Physical activity patterns in a diverse population of women. Prev Med 28:313–323PubMedCrossRef

Thune I, Njølstad I, Løchen M, Førde OH (1998) Physical activity improves the metabolic risk profiles in men and women. Arch Intern Med 158:1633–1640PubMedCrossRef

Verbrugge LM, Gruber-Baldini AL, Fozard JL (1996) Age differences and age changes in activities: Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 51:S30–S41PubMedCrossRef

Wannamethee SG, Shaper AG, Walker M (1998) Changes in physical activity, mortality, and incidence of coronary heart diseases in older men. Lancet 351(9116):1603–1608PubMedCrossRef

Wannamethee SG, Shaper AG (2001) Physical activity in the prevention of cardiovascular disease: an epidemiological perspective. Sports Med 31:101–114PubMedCrossRef

Whaley DE, Ebbeck V (1997) Older adults’ constraints to participation in structured exercise classes. J Aging Phys Act 5:190–212

World Health Organization (2002) Active ageing. A policy framework. World Health Organization, Geneva

World Health Organization (2003) Health and development through physical activity and sport. World Health Organization, Geneva

Yang X, Telama R, Hirvensalo M, Mattsson N, Viikari JSA, Raitakari O (2008) The longitudinal effects of physical activity history on metabolic syndrome. Med Sci Sports Exerc 40(8):1424–1431PubMedCrossRef

Title: Age and exercise: a theoretical and empirical analysis of the effect of age and generation on physical activity
Authors: Thomas Klein
Simone Becker
Publication date: 01-02-2012
Publisher: Springer-Verlag
Published in: Journal of Public Health / Issue 1/2012
Print ISSN: 2198-1833
Electronic ISSN: 1613-2238
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-011-0428-0

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

Age and exercise: a theoretical and empirical analysis of the effect of age and generation on physical activity

Abstract

Aim

Subject and methods

Results

Conclusion

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Aim

Subject and methods

Results

Conclusion

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 1/2012

Tobacco use prevalence, knowledge and attitudes, and tobacco cessation training among medical students: results of a pilot study of Global Health Professions Students Survey (GHPSS) in Italy

Have statins met our expectations? A comparison of expected health gains from statins with epidemiological trends in Austria

The yin–yang of followership–leadership in public health

A pilot survey about waste management in European hospitals: focusing on electrical and electronic equipment

Comorbidity and patient-reported quality of care: an evaluation of the primary care based German disease management program for type 2 diabetes

Causes of acute poisoning in adults: a retrospective study, in a hospital in Istanbul, Turkey