Fruit and vegetable intake, physical activity, and functional fitness among older adults in urban Alaska

Older adults often face barriers to obtaining recommended diet, physical activity, and fitness levels. Understanding these patterns can inform effective interventions targeting health beliefs and behavior. This cross-sectional study included a multicultural sample of 58 older adults (aged 55+ years,...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Allexis Mahanna, Britteny M. Howell, Amber K. Worthington, Leslie C. Redmond, Vanessa Y. Hiratsuka
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2024-12-01
Series:International Journal of Circumpolar Health
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/22423982.2024.2359164
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850065083203321856
author Allexis Mahanna
Britteny M. Howell
Amber K. Worthington
Leslie C. Redmond
Vanessa Y. Hiratsuka
author_facet Allexis Mahanna
Britteny M. Howell
Amber K. Worthington
Leslie C. Redmond
Vanessa Y. Hiratsuka
author_sort Allexis Mahanna
collection DOAJ
description Older adults often face barriers to obtaining recommended diet, physical activity, and fitness levels. Understanding these patterns can inform effective interventions targeting health beliefs and behavior. This cross-sectional study included a multicultural sample of 58 older adults (aged 55+ years, M=71.98) living in independent senior housing in urban Southcentral Alaska. Participants completed a questionnaire and the Senior Fitness Test that assessed self-reported fruit and vegetable intake, physical activity, self-efficacy, and functional fitness. T-tests and bivariate correlation analyses were used to test six hypotheses. Results indicated that participants had low physical activity but had a mean fruit and vegetable intake that was statistically significantly higher than the hypothesized “low” score. Only 4.26% of participants met functional fitness standards for balance/agility, and 8.51% met standards for lower-body strength. However, 51.1% met standards for upper-body strength and 46.8% met standards for endurance The results also indicated that nutrition self-efficacy and exercise self-efficacy were positively related to fruit and vegetable intake and physical activity levels, respectively. Interestingly, income was not related to nutrition or activity patterns. These data complicate the picture on dietary and physical activity patterns for older adults in Alaska and offer recommendations for future health promotion activities.
format Article
id doaj-art-e4b2d41221a64a64a10229a957f03d06
institution DOAJ
issn 2242-3982
language English
publishDate 2024-12-01
publisher Taylor & Francis Group
record_format Article
series International Journal of Circumpolar Health
spelling doaj-art-e4b2d41221a64a64a10229a957f03d062025-08-20T02:49:06ZengTaylor & Francis GroupInternational Journal of Circumpolar Health2242-39822024-12-0183110.1080/22423982.2024.2359164Fruit and vegetable intake, physical activity, and functional fitness among older adults in urban AlaskaAllexis Mahanna0Britteny M. Howell1Amber K. Worthington2Leslie C. Redmond3Vanessa Y. Hiratsuka4Population Health Sciences, University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage, AK, USAPopulation Health Sciences, University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage, AK, USACommunication, University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage, AK, USAAgricultural and Food Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, CanadaNational Resource Center for Alaska Native Elders, University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage, AK, USAOlder adults often face barriers to obtaining recommended diet, physical activity, and fitness levels. Understanding these patterns can inform effective interventions targeting health beliefs and behavior. This cross-sectional study included a multicultural sample of 58 older adults (aged 55+ years, M=71.98) living in independent senior housing in urban Southcentral Alaska. Participants completed a questionnaire and the Senior Fitness Test that assessed self-reported fruit and vegetable intake, physical activity, self-efficacy, and functional fitness. T-tests and bivariate correlation analyses were used to test six hypotheses. Results indicated that participants had low physical activity but had a mean fruit and vegetable intake that was statistically significantly higher than the hypothesized “low” score. Only 4.26% of participants met functional fitness standards for balance/agility, and 8.51% met standards for lower-body strength. However, 51.1% met standards for upper-body strength and 46.8% met standards for endurance The results also indicated that nutrition self-efficacy and exercise self-efficacy were positively related to fruit and vegetable intake and physical activity levels, respectively. Interestingly, income was not related to nutrition or activity patterns. These data complicate the picture on dietary and physical activity patterns for older adults in Alaska and offer recommendations for future health promotion activities.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/22423982.2024.2359164Self-efficacysenior fitness testhealthy agingself-reported health behaviorsnutritionphysical activity
spellingShingle Allexis Mahanna
Britteny M. Howell
Amber K. Worthington
Leslie C. Redmond
Vanessa Y. Hiratsuka
Fruit and vegetable intake, physical activity, and functional fitness among older adults in urban Alaska
International Journal of Circumpolar Health
Self-efficacy
senior fitness test
healthy aging
self-reported health behaviors
nutrition
physical activity
title Fruit and vegetable intake, physical activity, and functional fitness among older adults in urban Alaska
title_full Fruit and vegetable intake, physical activity, and functional fitness among older adults in urban Alaska
title_fullStr Fruit and vegetable intake, physical activity, and functional fitness among older adults in urban Alaska
title_full_unstemmed Fruit and vegetable intake, physical activity, and functional fitness among older adults in urban Alaska
title_short Fruit and vegetable intake, physical activity, and functional fitness among older adults in urban Alaska
title_sort fruit and vegetable intake physical activity and functional fitness among older adults in urban alaska
topic Self-efficacy
senior fitness test
healthy aging
self-reported health behaviors
nutrition
physical activity
url https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/22423982.2024.2359164
work_keys_str_mv AT allexismahanna fruitandvegetableintakephysicalactivityandfunctionalfitnessamongolderadultsinurbanalaska
AT brittenymhowell fruitandvegetableintakephysicalactivityandfunctionalfitnessamongolderadultsinurbanalaska
AT amberkworthington fruitandvegetableintakephysicalactivityandfunctionalfitnessamongolderadultsinurbanalaska
AT lesliecredmond fruitandvegetableintakephysicalactivityandfunctionalfitnessamongolderadultsinurbanalaska
AT vanessayhiratsuka fruitandvegetableintakephysicalactivityandfunctionalfitnessamongolderadultsinurbanalaska