Comparison of Subjective and Objective Methods for Measuring ...

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Abstract

Mexico is undergoing an accelerated demographic transition with older adults’ population growing at a high pace. Monitoring and assessing physical activity (PA) becomes relevant in achieving healthy aging. In Mexico, there are scarce studies measuring PA in older adults so there is insufficient data to measure its prevalence, assess clinical recommendations, or develop evidence-based interventions. The subjective methods developed to assess PA in older adults have not been validated in Mexican geriatric population. The objective of this study was to compare two subjective instruments, the “Rapid Assessment of Physical Activity (RAPA)” and the “Community Health Activities Model Program for Seniors (CHAMPS),” with an objective method, accelerometry, to assess if they measure PA adequately in urban Mexican older women. Community-dwelling women were selected from a sub-sample of a larger cross-sectional study of older adults who attended the National Institute for Older Adults’ community centers in Mexico City. They wore an accelerometer over the hip for seven days and were applied two questionnaires which collected information on PA. We then compared predictive properties of RAPA and CHAMPS with accelerometry. Efforts are needed to better measure PA in Mexican older adults in order to understand patterns, design interventions, and develop public health policies that promote PA and therefore encourage healthy aging.