Abstract
At the population level, it has been established that over 90% of older adults are sedentary for 8 or more hours per day. While most studies have controlled for moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity, none have looked at sedentary time related to sport participation among older adults. The purpose of this study was to determine whether there are differences between sedentary time of older masters athletes (MA) and recreational athletes (RA). A cross-sectional survey was created and included questions pertaining to demographics, sport participation, physical activity levels (International Physical Activity Questionnaire) and sedentary time (Measure of Older Adults' Sedentary Time Questionnaire). RA (men n=63; women n=65) and MA (men n=46; women n=33) were similar in age (RA men: 65.4±7.8 years, RA women 64.8±6.4 years, MA men 62.8±7.3 years, MA women 64.1±7.2 years). A larger portion of MA reported having a coach and competing at the national level compared to RA. Data indicate that MA were engaging in significantly more moderate-vigorous physical activity (4.1±1.9 times/week and 80.7±44.3 mins/session) than RA (2.6±2.2 times/week and 60.8±58.5 mins/session). Data also indicate that MA (818.1±796.0 mins/week) were spending significantly more time on the computer/internet than RA (619.3±645.1 mins/week); however, MA were spending less time watching TV and the computer compared to RA (MA: 3.2±1.7 hours/day; RA: 3.6±1.9 hours/day). These findings indicate that MA and RA accumulate a large amount of daily sedentary time; however, the type of sedentary behaviours they engage in may differ.
