Older Adult Compendium of Physical Activities: Energy Costs of Human Activities in Adults Aged 60 and Older

Authors

Erik A. Willis, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Stephen D. Herrmann, University of Kansas Medical Center
Mary Hastert, University of Kansas Medical Center
Chelsea L. Kracht, Pennington Biomedical Research Center
Tiago V. Barreira, Syracuse University
John M. Schuna Jr., Oregon State University
Zhenghua Cai, Shanghai University of Sport
Minghui Quan, Shanghai University of Sport
Scott A. Conger, Boise State UniversityFollow
Wendy J. Brown, University of Queensland
Barbara E. Ainsworth, Shanghai University of Sport

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-2024

Abstract

Purpose: To describe the development of a Compendium for estimating the energy costs of activities in adults ≥60 years (OA Compendium).

Methods: Physical activities (PAs) and their metabolic equivalent of task (MET) values were obtained from a systematic search of studies published in 4 sport and exercise databases (PubMed, Embase, SPORTDiscus (EBSCOhost), and Scopus) and a review of articles included in the 2011 Adult Compendium that measured PA in older adults. MET values were computed as the oxygen cost (VO₂, mL/kg/min) during PA divided by 2.7 mL/kg/min (MET₆₀₊) to account for the lower resting metabolic rate in older adults.

Results: We identified 68 articles and extracted energy expenditure data on 427 PAs. From these, we derived 99 unique Specific Activity codes with corresponding MET₆₀₊ values for older adults. We developed a website to present the OA Compendium MET₆₀₊ values: https://pacompendium.com.

Conclusion: The OA Compendium uses data collected from adults ≥60 years for more accurate estimation of the energy cost of PAs in older adults. It is an accessible resource that will allow researchers, educators, and practitioners to find MET₆₀₊ values for older adults for use in PA research and practice.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

Publication Information

Willis, Erik A.; Herrmann, Stephen D.; Hastert, Mary; Kracht, Chelsea L.; Barreira, Tiago V.; Schuna, John M. Jr.; Cai, Zhenghua; Quan, Minghui; Conger, Scott A.; Brown, Wendy J.; and Ainsworth, Barbara E.. (2024). "Older Adult Compendium of Physical Activities: Energy Costs of Human Activities in Adults Aged 60 and Older". Journal of Sport and Health Science, 13(1), 13-17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jshs.2023.10.007