Social support and physical activity: does general health matter?

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Public Health
• Behavioral Medicine

Background:

• Physical activity levels are often suboptimal in older adults, necessitating exploration of modifiable factors.
• Social support is a potential modifiable factor for physical activity interventions in older adults.
• The mediating role of general health in the social support-physical activity relationship is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the association between social support and self-reported physical activity in community-dwelling older adults.
• To examine if self-reported general health mediates the relationship between social support and physical activity.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from a randomized controlled trial.
• Participants were community-dwelling adults aged 60 years and older.
• Mediation analysis was used to assess the roles of social support, general health, and physical activity.

Main Results:

• Significant positive correlations were found between physical activity and social support (r=0.21, p<0.01).
• Significant negative correlation was found between physical activity and general health (r=-0.19, p<0.01).
• General health significantly mediated the relationship between social support and physical activity (B=416.9, 95% CI [96.4, 842.0]).

Conclusions:

• Augmenting social support, especially with other health promotion strategies, can enhance physical activity in older adults.
• General health is a significant mediator, suggesting interventions should address overall wellbeing.
• Further longitudinal research is needed to elucidate pathways for evidence-based interventions.