Motives for physical activity in older men and women : A twin study using accelerometer‐measured physical activity

Motives for physical activity may vary considerably by age, sex and the level of physical activity. We aimed to examine motives for physical activity in older men and women with different physical activity levels as well as whether genetic and/or environmental factors explain those motives. Finnish twins (mean age 72.9 years, 262 full twin pairs) self‐reported their motives for physical activity. Time spent on moderate‐to‐vigorous physical activity was monitored using a hip‐worn accelerometer. Comparisons between the different physical activity groups of older twins (n=764–791/motive dimension) were analysed using the Wald test, and effect sizes were calculated as Cohen’s d. Quantitative genetic modelling was used to estimate genetic and environmental contributions. For both sexes, the most frequently reported motives for physical activity were physical fitness, health maintenance and psychological wellbeing. Conforming to others’ expectations was more important for men than for women (p