Associations Between Work Style and Nonoccupational Physical Activity Among Older Workers

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Occupational Health
• Physical Activity Research

Background:

• Increasing employment among older adults necessitates understanding its impact on daily life.
• The association between working conditions and nonoccupational physical activity in older workers is not well-defined.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between different working condition categories and physical activity levels outside of work among older Japanese adults.
• To analyze how factors like work hours and occupational physical activity influence nonoccupational physical activity.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional analysis of 1689 older workers (aged 65-91) from the Wako Cohort Study (2023).
• Categorization based on full-time (≥20 h/wk) vs. part-time (<20 h/wk) work and presence/absence of occupational physical activity.
• Assessment of occupational, leisure-time, household, and transport-related physical activity using validated questionnaires.

Main Results:

• Full-time work, with or without occupational physical activity, was linked to significantly lower odds of leisure-time physical activity compared to part-time work with occupational activity.
• Both full-time and part-time work without occupational physical activity showed reduced odds of engaging in household physical activity.
• These work conditions were also associated with lower overall nonoccupational physical activity levels.

Conclusions:

• Working conditions, including hours and occupational physical activity, serve as indicators for the physical activity patterns of older workers during their non-work hours.
• The findings highlight how employment structures can influence the lifestyle and activity levels of the aging workforce.