Time change in the distribution of physical activity and its correlates among retired older Swedish adults: a repeated cross-sectional study from a national survey

BACKGROUND: Understanding how older adults spend time in moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA) is crucial to understanding healthy ageing. This study connects 24-h time-use diary records of the daily activities of a sample of Swedish older adults to energy intensities. The aim was to: i) estimate the prevalence of Swedish older adults (aged 65–84 years) who achieved recommended daily levels of physical activity; ii) identify what domains of everyday life contribute to MVPA; and iii) explore socio-demographic factors affecting rates of active living. METHODS: We draw on two Swedish nationally representative samples of time-use diary data from 2000/2001 and 2010/2011. Data covering the duration of all activities performed over two days were combined with activity-intensity information (metabolic equivalent of task [MET] values) to estimate the energy expenditure (MET min) originating from MVPA. RESULTS: Results indicate that 94.1% of Swedish older adults achieved the WHO-recommended minimum level of daily MVPA in 2010/2011; the share remained unchanged over the period. MVPA performed in natural environments (24.2%), during housework (22.8%), and on everyday walks in one’s local area (18.1%) were dominant domains contributing to energy expenditure. Home maintenance and repairs (8.8%), active transport (9.9%), and physical exercise (8.2%) contributed to a lesser extent. In 2000/2001, total MVPA energy expenditure was associated with gender, housing, living region, and disability; in 2010/2011, except for disability, these associations were no longer significant. CONCLUSIONS: The high proportion of older adults who achieved the recommended level of MVPA, their allocation of MVPA time to diverse domains, and the reduced social distribution over time suggest that elderly people increasingly find their own paths to everyday physical activity. This indicates a need to promote MVPA not only in established ways, such as prescribed training programmes. The importance of active physical activities in natural environments, and of regular walks in the vicinity of home, indicates a need to incorporate healthy ageing considerations in wider urban and regional planning, for example, to increase access to natural environments and urban walkability. Also, older adults’ involvement in household chores, maintenance and repairs, and active transport extends responsibility to new policy areas. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-022-14554-2.