Presenter: Eliza Hallett
Co-Presenters: Joshua Schrock, Tara Cepon-Robins, Tyler Barrett, Paul Kowal
Faculty Mentor: Josh Snodgrass
Presentation Type: Poster 66
Primary Research Area: Science
Major: Biology, Spanish
Accelerometers can be less expensive than other methods of measuring energy expenditure (e.g., doubly-labeled water) and are small and unobtrusive to the participant. Although the popularity of accelerometers has increased, they have not been used frequently in non-western settings and in populations of older adults. A sub-study of the World Health Organization’s Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE) in Uganda in 2013 utilized accelerometers (ActiGraph GT3X) to assess the larger question of the relationship between physical activity and health in older adults in a developing country. Seven consecutive days of accelerometry data was combined with self- reported activity levels, socioeconomic status, health status, and measures of physical functioning in 188 older adults in rural and peri-urban Uganda.
Preliminarily, we examined sex and age differences in average daily active energy expenditure (AEE) in a small subsample (28 women, 26 men). On average, women exhibited higher AEE (431.94 kcal/day) than men (298.26 kcal/ day) (t = -1.91, P=0.63). In addition, there was a negative correlation between age and AEE (r = -0.202, P=0.143). Although neither of these associations reached the threshold of P<0.05 for statistical significance, we are in the process of analyzing the entire n=188 subset and will present our findings at the symposium. With a larger sample to analyze it is likely that there will be a statistically significant relationship between physical activity and measures of health in this Ugandan population based on either age sub-category or sex differences between the male and female participants.