Adherence to physical activity recommendations in older adults: An Israeli national survey

The trend of extended life expectancy along with a sedentary lifestyle is typical in Western cultures. Objective: To explore adherence to physical activity recommendations in older adults in Israel. Methods: A random sample of 1,536 Jews and 316 Arabs age 65+ were interviewed and divided into sufficiently active, insufficiently active, and inactive groups based on official guidelines. Results: Only 36.4% of the Jewish sector and 19.6% of the Arab sector are sufficiently active. Men are more active than women, the secular are more active than the religious among both Jews and Arabs, and more years of education, a higher income, and fewer diseases and medications are related to higher levels of physical activity. Discussion: To slow down biological age decline with physical activity, intervention programs specifically tailored for culturally diverse groups are suggested-for example, recruiting prominent religious leaders to promote physical activity in religious populations.