Prediction of the Physical Activity Level of Community-Dwelling Older Japanese Adults with a Triaxial Accelerometer Containing a Classification Algorithm for Ambulatory and Non-Ambulatory Activities

Accurate methods for the prediction of the total energy expenditure and physical activity level (PAL) in community-dwelling older adults have not been established. Therefore, we examined the validity of estimating the PAL using an activity monitor (Active style Pro HJA-350IT, [ASP]) and proposed correction formulae for such populations in Japan. Data for 69 Japanese community-dwelling adults aged 65 to 85 years were used. The total energy expenditure in free-living conditions was measured with the doubly labeled water method and the measured basal metabolic rate. The PAL was also estimated from metabolic equivalent (MET) values obtained with the activity monitor. Adjusted MET values were also calculated with the regression equation of Nagayoshi et al. (2019). The observed PAL was underestimated, but significantly correlated, with the PAL from the ASP. When adjusted using the Nagayoshi et al. regression equation, the PAL was overestimated. Therefore, we developed regression equations to estimate the actual PAL (Y) from the PAL obtained with the ASP for young adults (X) as follows: women: Y = 0.949 × X + 0.205, mean ± standard deviation of the prediction error = 0.00 ± 0.20; men: Y = 0.899 × X + 0.371, mean ± standard deviation of the prediction error = 0.00 ± 0.17.