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Yates T, Henson J, McBride P, Maylor B, Herring LY, Sargeant JA, Davies MJ, Dempsey PC, Rowlands AV, Edwardson CL. Moderate-intensity stepping in older adults: insights from treadmill walking and daily living. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act 2023; 20:31. [PMID: 36934275 PMCID: PMC10024004 DOI: 10.1186/s12966-023-01429-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2022] [Accepted: 02/26/2023] [Indexed: 03/19/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND A step cadence of 100 steps/minute is widely used to define moderate-intensity walking. However, the generalizability of this threshold to different populations needs further research. We investigate moderate-intensity step cadence values during treadmill walking and daily living in older adults. METHODS Older adults (≥ 60 years) were recruited from urban community venues. Data collection included 7 days of physical activity measured by an activPAL3™ thigh worn device, followed by a laboratory visit involving a 60-min assessment of resting metabolic rate, then a treadmill assessment with expired gas measured using a breath-by-breath analyser and steps measured by an activPAL3™. Treadmill stages were undertaken in a random order and lasted 5 min each at speeds of 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 km/h. Metabolic equivalent values were determined for each stage as standardised values (METSstandard) and as multiples of resting metabolic rate (METSrelative). A value of 3 METSstandard defined moderate-intensity stepping. Segmented generalised estimating equations modelled the association between step cadence and MET values. RESULTS The study included 53 participants (median age = 75, years, BMI = 28.0 kg/m2, 45.3% women). At 2 km/h, the median METSstandard and METSrelative values were above 3 with a median cadence of 81.00 (IQR 72.00, 88.67) steps/minute. The predicted cadence at 3 METSstandard was 70.3 (95% CI 61.4, 75.8) steps/minute. During free-living, participants undertook median (IQR) of 6988 (5933, 9211) steps/day, of which 2554 (1297, 4456) steps/day were undertaken in continuous stepping bouts lasting ≥ 1 min. For bouted daily steps, 96.4% (90.7%, 98.9%) were undertaken at ≥ 70 steps/minute. CONCLUSION A threshold as low as 70 steps/minute may be reflective of moderate-intensity stepping in older adults, with the vast majority of all bouted free-living stepping occurring above this threshold.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Yates
- Diabetes Research Centre, College of Life Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.
- NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust and University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.
| | - J Henson
- Diabetes Research Centre, College of Life Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
- NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust and University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
| | - P McBride
- Diabetes Research Centre, College of Life Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
- NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust and University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
| | - B Maylor
- Diabetes Research Centre, College of Life Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
- NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust and University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
| | - L Y Herring
- NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust and University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
- Leicester Diabetes Centre, University Hospitals of Leicester National Health Service Trust, Leicester, UK
| | - J A Sargeant
- NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust and University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
- Leicester Diabetes Centre, University Hospitals of Leicester National Health Service Trust, Leicester, UK
| | - M J Davies
- Diabetes Research Centre, College of Life Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
- NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust and University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
| | - P C Dempsey
- Diabetes Research Centre, College of Life Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
- NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust and University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
| | - A V Rowlands
- Diabetes Research Centre, College of Life Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
- NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust and University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
| | - C L Edwardson
- Diabetes Research Centre, College of Life Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
- NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust and University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
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