Occupational Therapy-Based Physical Activity Questionnaire (OTBPAQ) Categorization of Physical Activity Composition Ratios of Older Individuals Living in the Community.
Daisuke Tashiro, Masahiro Ogawa, Makoto Otaki and 3 others
The mix of physical activities an older adult does is associated with frailty.
In this group of 499, the aerobic exercise group had the lowest frailty (30.4%) and the recreational gymnastics group the highest (73.3%).
Key findings
1Five clusters of physical activity composition were identified, ranging from the balance-oriented group (247, 49.5%) to the recreational gymnastics group (15, 3.0%).
2Frailty was significantly lower in the aerobic exercise group (30.4%) and significantly higher in the recreational gymnastics group (73.3%).
3The recreational gymnastics group had 53.3% with low physical activity and the shopping group 15.5%, both significantly higher than the balance-oriented group at 8.5%.
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What it does not show
All participants attended a community center in one Japanese city, so the findings may not apply to older adults who are housebound or live in other settings. 86.2% were women, so the pattern for men is less well represented. Physical activity was self-reported; no accelerometer or pedometer data was collected to verify the amounts. This is a one-time snapshot. It cannot show whether a particular activity pattern causes or prevents frailty. MET values for activities not in the published compendium were estimated by occupational therapist consensus, which the authors note introduces subjectivity.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflicts of interest and no funding was received.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the lower frailty in the aerobic exercise group as proof that aerobic exercise prevents frailty. This is a one-time survey of self-reported activity in one Japanese city. It shows a pattern across groups, not a cause-and-effect relationship. The recreational gymnastics group's higher frailty does not mean that activity type is harmful.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →