Accelerometer-determined sedentary and physical activity estimates among older adults with diabetes: considerations by demographic and comorbidity characteristics.

Understanding of the objectively measured physical activity (PA) and sedentary patterns of adults with diabetes at the population level is currently limited. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to report accelerometer-determined PA and sedentary patterns among a national sample of U.S. adults with and without evidence of diabetes and to also explore differences across other comorbidity characteristics. Data from the 2003-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were used. Four hundred seven participants had evidence of diabetes (mean age = 73.4 years), and 1,346 did not have diabetes (mean age = 74.3 years). Results showed that few older adults meet PA guidelines; the majority of their time is spent in sedentary activities; very few engage in more light-intensity PA than sedentary behavior; and older adults with multiple comorbidities engage in less PA and more sedentary behavior than their counterparts. The development and implementation of feasible, effective PA programs for older adults with multiple comorbidities are warranted.