Association between dietary patterns and subjective and objective measures of physical activity among Japanese adults aged 85 years and older: a cross-sectional study


 A healthy diet and regular physical activity (PA) are delineated as healthy behaviours (HBs). Their implementation is associated with better health outcomes, and improved quality of life. There is less evidence of a relationship between dietary patterns (DPs) and PA, especially in adults aged ≥ 85. Hence, this cross-sectional study investigates the association between DPs and PA in people of this age group, using the data from The Kawasaki Ageing and Well-being Project. Brief-type self-administered diet history questionnaire was used to estimate the intake of 58 types of food. After energy adjustment, principal component analysis was performed to identify DPs. PA was measured objectively using an accelerometer and subjectively using a questionnaire validated for this age group. 1000 participants (median age: 86.9 y, men: 49.9%) were included in the analysis. Three major DPs (DP1 ‘Various foods’, DP2 ‘Red meats & Coffee’, DP3 ‘Bread & Processed Meats’) were identified. DP1 ‘Various foods’ was similar to DPs previously named ‘Healthy’ or ‘Prudent’, and showed a positive association with PA time as measured by accelerometer (B, 6.25; 95% CI, 0.13 to 12.37), and relatively shorter sedentary behaviour (SB) time. DP2 ‘red meat and coffee’ and DP3 ‘bread and processed meat’ were negatively associated with PA time and positively associated with SB time. This study observed the relationship between diet and PA behaviours in adults aged ≥ 85, with healthier and more food-diverse DP associated with longer PA time and relatively unhealthy DP with shorter PA time.