SUBJECTIVE AGE AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY: A DAILY-DIARY STUDY WITH COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE WEARABLES

摘要

Emerging intervention studies suggest that positive self-perceptions of aging (SPA) promote physical activity (PA) in older adults. Short-term intra-individual variation in both PA and SPA calls for an investigation of the day-to-day dynamics. 40 individuals (60–74 years) wore a Fitbit^TM device to assess PA and reported subjective ages for a 2-week diary period. Domain-specific SPA were assessed at the outset of this pilot-like study. Multilevel model analyses revealed that individuals felt younger on physically more active days (β = -0.12; p < .05). Domain-specific associations were found at the between-person level, with physically active participants tending to perceive their own aging more in terms of physical decline (β = .34; p < .10) and less in terms of social loss (β = .42; p < .05). Findings suggest that, despite making individuals more aware of age-related physical limitations, PA exertion is paralleled by a positive perception of one’s own age.