An intervention to decrease sedentary behavior in older adults: A secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Sedentary behaviors are associated with adverse health outcomes in older adults. The feasibility of behavioral interventions in this population is unclear. METHODS: In the Sit Less, Interact, Move More (SLIMM) trial of 106 participants who had obesity, those randomized to the SLIMM intervention (N = 54) were instructed to replace sedentary activities with stepping. An accelerometer was used to measure physical activity. In this secondary analysis, mixed effect models were used to examine the effects of the SLIMM intervention on sedentary and stepping durations and steps/day by age (<70 and ≥ 70 years). RESULTS: Mean ages in the <70 years (N = 47) and ≥70 years (N = 59) groups were 58 ± 11 and 78 ± 5. In the older subgroup, compared to standard‐of‐care (N = 29), the SLIMM intervention (N = 30) significantly increased stepping duration (13, 95%CI 1–24 min/d, p = 0.038) and steps per day (1330, 95% CI 322–2338, p = 0.01) and non‐significantly decreased sedentary duration by (28,95% CI −61–5 min/d, p = 0.09). In the age <70 subgroup, there was no separation between the standard of care (N = 23) and SLIMM (N = 24) groups. DISCUSSION: In older adults who had obesity, SLIMM intervention significantly increased stepping duration and steps per day. Interventions targeting sedentary behaviors by promoting low intensity physical activity may be feasible in this population.