Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 30, 2026
Visualization of Intensity Levels to Reduce the Gap Between Self-Reported and Directly Measured Physical Activity
Published on: March 7, 2019
Accelerometry analysis of physical activity and sedentary behavior in older adults: a systematic review and data
E Gorman1, H M Hanson1, P H Yang2
1Centre for Hip Health and Mobility, 7F - 2635 Laurel Street, Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9 Canada ; Department of Family Practice, University of British Columbia (UBC), 320-5950 University Boulevard, Vancouver, BC V6T1Z3 Canada.
Abstract:
Accelerometers objectively monitor physical activity and sedentary patterns and are increasingly used in the research setting. It is important to maintain consistency in data analysis and reporting, therefore, we: (1) systematically identified studies using accelerometry (ActiGraph, Pensacola, FL, USA) to measure moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and sedentary time in older adults, and (2) based on the review findings, we used different cut-points obtained to analyze accelerometry data from a sample of community-dwelling older women. We identified 59 articles with cut-points ranging between 574 and 3,250 counts/min for MVPA and 50 and 500 counts/min for sedentary time. Using these cut-points and data from women (mean age, 70 years), the median MVPA minutes per day ranged between 4 and 80 min while percentage of sedentary time per day ranged between 62 % and 86 %. These data highlight (1) the importance of reporting detailed information on the analysis assumptions and (2) that results can differ greatly depending on analysis parameters.
