Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior at the End of the Human Lifespan

To objectively assess physical activity levels and sedentary behavior in a cohort of Spanish centenarians and their nonagenarian peers. Physical activity and sedentary behavior patterns were objectively measured by an ActiGraph GT3X accelerometer in centenarians (n = 18; 83% women; 100.8 +/- 0.8 [100-103] years) and nonagenarians (n = 11; 91% women; 93.3 +/- 2.5 [90-98] years). Centenarians showed less counts per minute (17.6 +/- 7.1 vs. 46.1 +/- 23.7, p = .003, d= 1.851) and steps per day (455 +/- 237 vs. 1.249 +/- 776. p = .007. d= 1.587) than nonagenarians. The daily number of sedentary breaks was also lower in the former (5.0 +/- 1.5 vs. 6.7 +/- 2.0. p = .019. d= 0.971). When observing time distribution, the most active day period in both groups was the morning. with a peak between 10:00 and 11:59. This data suggest that the decline in physical activity levels continues to worsen until the end of the human lifespan.