RESEARCH ARTICLE Moving through Life-Space Areas and Objectively Measured Physical Activity of Older People

Objectives Physical activity–an important determinant of health and function in old age–may vary according to the life-space area reached. Our aim was to study how moving through greater life-space areas is associated with greater physical activity of community-dwelling older people. The association between objectively measured physical activity and life-space area reached on different days by the same individual was studied using one-week longitudinal data, to provide insight in causal relationships. Methods One-week surveillance of objectively assessed physical activity of community-dwelling 70–90-year-old people in central Finland from the “Life-space mobility in old age ” cohort substudy (N = 174). In spring 2012, participants wore an accelerometer for 7 days and com-pleted a daily diary including the largest life-space area reached (inside home, outside home, neighborhood, town, and beyond town). The daily step count, and the time in moder-ate (incl. walking) and low activity and sedentary behavior were assessed. Differences i