Sedentary behavior and health outcomes among older adults: a systematic review

In the last decade, sedentary behavior has emerged as a new risk factor for health. The elderly spend most of their awake time in sedentary activities. Despite this high exposure, the impact of this sedentary behavior on the health of this population has not yet been reviewed. We systematically reviewed evidence for associations between sedentary behavior and multiple health outcomes in adults over 60 years of age.

We searched the Medline, Embase, Web of Science, SPORTDiscus, PsycINFO, CINAHL, LILLACS, and Sedentary Research Database for observational studies published up to May 2013. Additionally, we contacted members of the Sedentary Behaviour Research Network to identify articles that were potentially eligible. After inclusion, the methodological quality of the evidence was assessed in each study.