Barriers and Predictors of Long-Term Physical Activity Maintenance: The STRRIDE I Reunion Cohort

This study aimed to identify barriers and predictors of self-reported physical activity (PA) maintenance 10 yr following the Studies of a Targeted Risk Reduction Intervention through Defined Exercise (STRRIDE I) randomized trial among young older adults.

Participants completed a PA recall questionnaire that assessed barriers to PA maintenance. Chi-square tests assessed differences in barriers by PA maintenance tertile. Demographic and clinical measures collected at baseline and post-intervention from the STRRIDE I parent trial were included in model development to identify predictors of PA maintenance. Three models were generated using a backward bootstrap variable selection algorithm followed by multiple linear regression.

Participants who returned for the STRRIDE I Reunion study (n = 104; 63.0 ± 6.2 yr old) reported mean PA participation of 77.9 ± 76.5 min·wk^-1. Commonly reported barriers to PA maintenance included lack of self-motivation (41%), time constraints (33%), illness or injury (29%), and family obligations (23%). There was a significant association between the percentage of individuals who reported one or more barriers versus no barriers by PA maintenance tertile (frequency of PA: χ ² ratio = 26.1, P < 0.0001; amount of PA: χ ² ratio = 15.1, P = 0.0005). The baseline predictive model had an adjusted R ² value of 0.05, the post-intervention predictive model had an adjusted R ² of 0.12, and the change score (post-intervention minus pre-intervention) predictive model had an adjusted R ² of 0.17.

Maintaining PA beyond a structured exercise intervention setting continues to be challenging for older adults. Compared to those who reported no barriers, young older adults who reported one or more barriers to PA maintenance were less active 10 yr following STRRIDE I. Additionally, how participants respond to a structured exercise intervention in certain clinical variables may be the most indicative of future PA maintenance.