Speakers - 2026

Title: The Imperative of Monitoring Prolonged Sedentary Behavior and Physical Activity in Long-Term Care Users

Abstract

Physical activity, physical inactivity, and sedentary behavior, viewed contextually, constitute three interdependent constructs whose heterogeneity is reflected in the domain of the behavioral aspect of human movement, its characteristics, and energy consumption. Physical activity is characterized by any body movement produced by skeletal muscles which requires energy expenditure above resting metabolic rate, while physical inactivity is defined as failure to meet physical activity guidelines. On the other hand, sedentary activity refers to any awake activity that results in energy consumption ≤1.5 metabolic equivalent task while the person is in a sitting, reclining, or lying posture. Recognized world organizations warn that prolonged sedentary behavior for more than six hours significantly increases the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, metabolic diseases, musculoskeletal disorders, cancer, mental health disorders, and is considered the leading cause of premature death in all age groups. Research suggests that the prevalence of prolonged sedentary behavior is more common in older age groups, where individuals spend more than eight hours a day in sedentary activities. An extremely vulnerable group of society are older adults in long-term care facilities (LTC), who often spend more than eleven hours a day in prolonged sedentary activities compared to community-dwelling adults, which significantly contributes to the deterioration of their health and functional status, along with a general decline in psychological well-being, and thus a greater need for gerontological care. Regarding the level of care provided, researchers report that LTC users of high level care spend more time in sedentary activities compared to users of intermediate/mixed level care. Individual characteristics of the user, attitude, and insufficient and limited knowledge about the consequences of prolonged sedentary behavior on health, ignorance of the health benefits of inclusion in physical activity, lack of strategies for identifying sedentary triggers, lack of self-confidence and motivation to engage in physical activity, deficient social interaction of users in the retirement community, insufficient support from family and friends and the local and wider communities, and failure to include health and non-health professionals in lifelong education programs, are significant moderators in explaining prolonged sedentary behavior and physical inactivity in LTC users. Ensuring senior-friendly environments focused on the individual needs of users, availability of sports and recreational facilities in the retirement home, continuous implementation of educational workshops on exercise behavior change for users and members of the multidisciplinary gerontological team, implementation of management and self-management protocols for prolonged sedentary behavior and physical activity in the LTC environment, integration of family members and friends with the involvement of the local and wider communities in gerontological care programs, are important strategies for managing prolonged sedentary behavior and physical activity in LTC users.

What will the audience take away from presentation:

Given that this presentation places LTC users at the center of events, who are a vulnerable, marginalized, and high-risk group of society due to practicing prolonged sedentary behavior with insufficient involvement in physical activity, it will contribute to the improvement of proactive gerontological care, as well as the implementation of a greater number of gerontological research. Knowledge about the interdependence of the dynamics of prolonged sedentary behavior and physical inactivity in a LTC environment will enable the development and improvement of multimodal gerontological programs aimed at reducing prolonged sedentary behavior through the implementation of problem-solving approaches with the aim of ensuring a stimulating environment in an LTC facility.