• Laura Karavirta, Timo Rantalainen, Heidi Skantz, Inna Lisko, Erja Portegijs, and Taina Rantanen.
• Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences and Gerontology Research Center, University of Jyväskylä, Finland.
• J. Gerontol. A Biol. Sci. Med. Sci. 2020 Sep 16; 75 (9): e111-e118.

BackgroundWalking forms a large portion of physical activity (PA) of older adults. We assessed free-living PA using acceleration corresponding to preferred walking speed as a relative cut-point and studied how it relates to age. We compared the relative cut-point to a common absolute cut-point of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA).MethodFour hundred forty-four community-dwelling adults aged 75, 80, and 85 years wore an accelerometer on the thigh during a PA surveillance period and a modified 6-minute walking test (6MWT) at preferred speed. Each individual's mean acceleration (g) during the 6MWT was used as a cut-point for relative PA. Acceleration corresponding to three metabolic equivalents (METs) was used as the cut-point for absolute MVPA.ResultsWhen using the acceleration of preferred walking speed as a cut-point, 62 (SD 82) minutes a week of relative PA was detected, compared to 228 (163) minutes of absolute MVPA. For 96% of the participants, the acceleration generated by their preferred walking speed exceeded the common absolute cut-point for MVPA. Absolute MVPA was lower in the older age groups, and 6MWT speed explained 22% of its variation (p < .001), whereas relative PA was independent of walking speed and age.ConclusionsPreferred walking speed was a significant contributor to absolute MVPA and those who walked the slowest accumulated the least MVPA. Assessing relative PA using the intensity of preferred walking speed as a cut-point eliminated the dependency of PA on age and walking speed, and may be a feasible scaling option to evaluate relative PA among older people.© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

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