Older adults who want to maintain their mobility should know that all movement, not just moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, counts,'' said senior author Andrea LaCroix, professor and chief of the Division of Epidemiology at Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health. "We found that, among older women, light-intensity physical activity preserves mobility later in life.''
Researchers observed 5,735 women age 63 and older living in the United States and enrolled in a study by the Women's Health Initiative. Participants wore a research-grade accelerometer for seven days to obtain accurate measures of their physical activity. The mean time spent in light physical activity was 4.8 hours per day.