Bodily movement and sustaining quality of life in old age research costs)
Main funder
Funder's project number: 328818
Funds granted by main funder (€)
- 299 977,00
Funding program
Project timetable
Project start date: 01/09/2019
Project end date: 31/08/2023
Summary
Voluntary movement is an essential building block of practically all meaningful roles an older individual might hold. Therefore, I
postulate that physical activity and sedentary behaviour may be indicators of the ability of an older individual to maintain good quality
of life. The purposes of the present program of research are 1) to develop a method to capture bodily movement of older people in free-
living conditions, 2) to validate this method with respect to established assessments of quality of life, 3) to examine the patterns of
physical behaviour change in free-living conditions among older people followed up for four years, and 4) to assess whether the
patterns of physical behaviour change are reflected in changes of quality of life. These objectives are addressed by utilising pre-existing
data from a population representative sample of N = 500 75 to 85 year-old men and women to be followed-up at four years past the
baseline testing during this project with an expectation to be able to re-test N = 225 women and N = 150. Quality of life is assessed with
Older People’s Quality of Life questionnaire’ (OPQOL-brief), and physical activity and sedentary behaviour with 7-day actigraphy
using a trunk and a thigh worn accelerometer. The main novelty is in evaluating patterning of physical activity and sedentary behaviour
using accumulation and patterning metrics, and in utilising machine learning clustering techniques to evaluate the effects of physical
behaviour change on quality of life. The created knowledge regarding the relationship between physical activity, sedentary behaviour
and quality life is valuable in e.g. informing policy decisions regarding aging in place or moving to assisted living. Funding is requested
to establish my research group with funding for a postdoc, a PhD candidate and a part-time research assistant to be recruited for the
project. I have organised a visit to one of the leading experts in physical activity-related numerical analysis, and also an opportunity for
the PhD candidate to visit top-ranked sports science school during the funding period. My background is in biomechanics and lately I
have explored the use of wearable sensors in assessing physical behaviour. I am excited about the proposed program of research, it is a
logical extension of my work, it would support my strong upwards career trajectory, and I would be ideally suited to lead such a
program of research.
postulate that physical activity and sedentary behaviour may be indicators of the ability of an older individual to maintain good quality
of life. The purposes of the present program of research are 1) to develop a method to capture bodily movement of older people in free-
living conditions, 2) to validate this method with respect to established assessments of quality of life, 3) to examine the patterns of
physical behaviour change in free-living conditions among older people followed up for four years, and 4) to assess whether the
patterns of physical behaviour change are reflected in changes of quality of life. These objectives are addressed by utilising pre-existing
data from a population representative sample of N = 500 75 to 85 year-old men and women to be followed-up at four years past the
baseline testing during this project with an expectation to be able to re-test N = 225 women and N = 150. Quality of life is assessed with
Older People’s Quality of Life questionnaire’ (OPQOL-brief), and physical activity and sedentary behaviour with 7-day actigraphy
using a trunk and a thigh worn accelerometer. The main novelty is in evaluating patterning of physical activity and sedentary behaviour
using accumulation and patterning metrics, and in utilising machine learning clustering techniques to evaluate the effects of physical
behaviour change on quality of life. The created knowledge regarding the relationship between physical activity, sedentary behaviour
and quality life is valuable in e.g. informing policy decisions regarding aging in place or moving to assisted living. Funding is requested
to establish my research group with funding for a postdoc, a PhD candidate and a part-time research assistant to be recruited for the
project. I have organised a visit to one of the leading experts in physical activity-related numerical analysis, and also an opportunity for
the PhD candidate to visit top-ranked sports science school during the funding period. My background is in biomechanics and lately I
have explored the use of wearable sensors in assessing physical behaviour. I am excited about the proposed program of research, it is a
logical extension of my work, it would support my strong upwards career trajectory, and I would be ideally suited to lead such a
program of research.
Principal Investigator
Other persons related to this project (JYU)
Primary responsible unit
Internal follow-up group
Profiling area: School of Wellbeing (University of Jyväskylä JYU) JYU.Well
Related publications and other outputs
1 of 3
- Changes in femoral neck bone mineral density and structural strength during a 12-month multicomponent exercise intervention among older adults : Does accelerometer-measured physical activity matter? (2024) Savikangas, T.; et al.; A1; OA
- Association of Sit-to-Stand Capacity and Free-Living Performance Using Thigh-Worn Accelerometers among 60- to 90-Yr-Old Adults (2023) Löppönen, Antti; et al.; A1; OA
- Autonomic nervous system and postural control regulation during orthostatic test as putative markers of physical resilience among community-dwelling older adults (2023) Koivunen, Kaisa; et al.; A1; OA
- Menopausal symptoms and cardiometabolic risk factors in middle-aged women : A cross-sectional and longitudinal study with 4-year follow-up (2023) Hyvärinen, Matti; et al.; A1; OA
- Association Between Free-Living Sit-to-Stand Transition Characteristics, and Lower-Extremity Performance, Fear of Falling, and Stair Negotiation Difficulties Among Community-Dwelling 75 to 85-Year-Old Adults (2022) Löppönen, Antti; et al.; A1; OA
- Association of developmental coordination disorder and low motor competence with impaired bone health : A systematic review (2022) Tan, Jocelyn; et al.; A2; OA
- Is Complexity of Daily Activity Associated with Physical Function and Life Space Mobility among Older Adults? (2022) Rantalainen, Timo; et al.; A1; OA
- Metabolic health, menopause, and physical activity : a 4-year follow-up study (2022) Hyvärinen, Matti; et al.; A1; OA
- Physical activity scaled to preferred walking speed as a predictor of walking difficulty in older adults : a 2-year follow-up (2022) Karavirta, Laura; et al.; A1; OA
- Associations Between Accelerometer-Based Free-Living Walking and Self-Reported Walking Capability Among Community-Dwelling Older People (2021) Skantz, Heidi; et al.; A1; OA
