Physical Activity, Ability to Walk, Weight Status, and Multimorbidity Levels in Older Spanish People: The National Health Survey (2009–2017)

Pedro Ángel Latorre-Román, Juan Manuel Carmona-Torres, Ana Isabel Cobo-Cuenca and José Alberto Laredo-Aguilera
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Pedro Ángel Latorre-Román: Department of Didactics of Corporal Expression, University of Jaén, Campus Las Lagunillas s/n, 23071 Jaén, Spain
Juan Manuel Carmona-Torres: Facultad de Fisioterapia y Enfermería, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Campus de Fábrica de Armas, Av de Carlos III, 45071 Toledo, Spain
Ana Isabel Cobo-Cuenca: Facultad de Fisioterapia y Enfermería, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Campus de Fábrica de Armas, Av de Carlos III, 45071 Toledo, Spain
José Alberto Laredo-Aguilera: Grupo de Investigación Multidisciplinar en Cuidados (IMCU), Campus de Fábrica de Armas, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Av de Carlos III, 45071 Toledo, Spain

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 12, 1-13

Abstract: Background. Many studies have shown a relationship between physical functioning and health status in older people. Aim. The purpose of this study was to analyze the temporal trends of physical activity (PA), ability to walk, weight status, self-perceived health, and disease or chronic health problems in people over 65 years from 2009 to 2017, using the European Health Survey in Spain and the National Health Survey in Spain. Methods. This study included 13,049 older people: 6026 (2330 men and 3696 women; age (mean, SD (Standard Deviation)) = 75.61 ± 7.11 years old) in 2009 and 7023 (2850 men and 4173 women; age (mean, SD) = 76.01 ± 7.57 years old) in 2017. Results. In 2017, older people exhibited lower values of moderate PA ( p < 0.001), a lower number of hours of walking per week ( p < 0.001), and worse self-perceived health status ( p < 0.001) compared to 2009. These differences are maintained when comparing the sexes. Compliance with PA recommendations was 27.9% and 6.1% (chi-squared = 352.991, p < 0.001) in 2009 and 2017, respectively. There were no significant differences in weight status between older people in 2009 and 2017. In 2017, older people had significantly high percentages of disease or chronic health problems ( p < 0.05), number of diseases ( p < 0.001), severe difficulty walking 500 m without assistance ( p < 0.05), and severe difficulty going up or down 12 stairs. Conclusions. From 2009 to 2017, Spanish older people worsened their PA levels and perception of their health status, and they increased their disease levels, which could be associated with the worsening of ability to walk in 2017.

Keywords: older people; physical activity; weight status; gait; aging (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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