Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 21, 2026
Visualization of Intensity Levels to Reduce the Gap Between Self-Reported and Directly Measured Physical Activity
Published on: March 7, 2019
Association between physical activity and stationary time variability and frailty in adults meeting and not meeting
Madeline E Shivgulam1, Olga Theou2, Myles W O'Brien3
1Geriatric Medicine Research, Nova Scotia Health & Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada; Centre de Formation Médicale du Nouveau-Brunswick, Université de Sherbrooke, Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada.
Background:
This study tested the hypothesis that greater variability in moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA) and stationary time is associated with lower frailty among inactive (<150 min/week MVPA) and stationary (≥8 hours/day) adults, and with higher frailty among active (≥150 min/week MVPA) and non-stationary (<8 hours/day) adults.
Methods:
N=5945 (3061 females) community-dwelling adults (age: 51.9±18.5 years) from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES 2003-2006) were included in this cross-sectional analysis. Frailty was measured with a 46-item index based on the deficit accumulation model and habitual activity, including average real variability, was derived from ActiGraph accelerometers.
Results:
Among active and inactive individuals, there was no association between MVPA variability and frailty (both, p>0.455), but higher average MVPA was associated with lower frailty in both active (β=-0.0002, p=0.02) and inactive (β=-0.0036, p<0.001) adults. Higher stationary time variability was associated with higher frailty in stationary and non-stationary populations (both, p<0.001). These associations were non-significant when variability was expressed as a percentage of accelerometer wear time (both, p>0.741). Lower average stationary time was associated with lower frailty in non-stationary and stationary adults even when wear time was considered (p<0.001).
Conclusion:
After accounting for accelerometer wear time, neither MVPA nor stationary time variability were associated with frailty, highlighting that overall activity may be associated with frailty rather than day-to-day accumulation patterns.
