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The study goal was to examine the association between perceived neighborhood characteristics and walking in urban older adults in Brazil. A cross-sectional study including 4,027 older adults from the baseline of the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSI-Brazil) was performed. Walking was measured using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Neighborhood characteristics were questions about physical disorder, noise pollution, safety, violence, social cohesion, services, concerns with community mobility, and pleasantness. Multinomial logistic regression was used. Concern about taking the bus, subway, or train was inversely associated with walking for men. Violence (victim of theft, robbery, or had home broken into) and social cohesion (trust in neighbors) were positively and inversely associated with walking for women, respectively. A significant interaction term between social cohesion and number of chronic diseases was observed for women. These findings demonstrate the need for sex-specific interventions and policies to increase the walking levels among older Brazilian adults.

The purpose of this study was to assess the validity of the Human Activity Profile (HAP) by comparing scores with accelerometer data and by objectively testing its cutoff points. This study included 120 older women (age 60–90 years). Average daily time spent in sedentary, moderate, and hard activity; counts; number of steps; and energy expenditure were measured using an accelerometer. Spearman rank order correlations were used to evaluate the correlation between the HAP scores and accelerometer variables. Significant relationships were detected (rho = .47−.75, p < .001), indicating that the HAP estimates physical activity at a group level well; however, scatterplots showed individual errors. Receiver operating characteristic curves were constructed to determine HAP cutoff points on the basis of physical activity level recommendations, and the cutoff points found were similar to the original HAP cutoff points. The HAP is a useful indicator of physical activity levels in older women.

A cross-sectional study was conducted to compare the habitual physical activity level, measured by accelerometry, gait performance, assessed by the GAITRite® system, handgrip strength, and static balance between older Brazilian women who participate (n = 50; 70.7 ± 5.5 years) and do not participate (n = 50; 70.1 ± 5.6 years) in a regular physical exercise program, and to investigate whether participation in a regular exercise program ensures compliance with physical activity recommendations. Older women who participated in a regular physical exercise program had significantly shorter sedentary activity time (effect size [ES] = 0.54), longer moderate activity time (ES = 0.85), and higher energy expenditure (ES = 0.64), number of steps (ES = 0.82), gait speed (ES = 0.49), and step length (ES = 0.45). However, regular participation in an exercise program did not guarantee compliance with physical activity recommendations. Behavioral changes to increase physical activity levels among older women who do and do not participate in a regular exercise program are necessary.