Low level of physical activity and sedentary behaviour in elderly: a systematic review of the parameters

Sedentary behavior tends to increase with aging and several studies have focused on analyzing the components which may influence this pattern of behavior. Indirect and direct measuring have been used to determine the relative parameters to this phenomenon while there is no consensus about which parameter should be adopted to conceptualize sedentary behavior, making difficulty to establish comparisons among the studies on this population. The aim of this study was to systematically review the characterization of low level of physical activity and sedentary behavior in studies with older people. Electronic search on Scielo, LILACS, MEDLINE, PubMed, and ISI Web of Knowledge was carried out. Selection of the studies included: original manuscripts, with elderly analyzing sedentary behavior or low-level pf physical activity through direct and indirect measure. Search initially screened 190 manuscripts yielding 10 relevant studies. Questionnaire, self-reported questionnaire and accelerometer were the instruments used in the studies. Sedentary behavior or low level of physical activity was characterized by analyzing sitting time, physical activity on leisure time, counts per minute, engaging in moderate or vigorous intensity during day or performing physical activities with MET <1.5. There is no standardization of the parameters adopted to characterize sedentary behavior on studies, generating divergent results and making it difficult to establish comparisons.