Activity Tracking Behavior and Engagement in Regular Physical Activity Among Older Adults and Care Partners

Background: Activity trackers support physical activity, yet evidence on their effectiveness among older adults and care partners is limited. This study assesses the relationship between activity-tracking frequency and engagement in regular physical activity among older adults and care partners. Methods: For this cross-sectional study, 615 older adults and care partners completed online surveys assessing the frequency of activity tracking (predictor) and the regularity in physical activity engagement (outcome). Using multivariable logistic regression, we assessed the association between the predictors and the outcome across the entire population and separately among older adults (n=310) and care partners (n=305), adjusting for sociodemographic, mobility, and health-related covariates. We reported the adjusted odds ratio (aOR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results: Older adult (OA) and care partner (CP) respondents were predominantly female (OA: 57%, CP: 53%) and non-Hispanic White (OA: 51%, CP: 43%). Across the entire population, frequent tracking of physical activity was associated with a 2.4-fold increase in the odds of engaging in regular physical activity (aOR: 2.40; 95% CI: 1.45 – 3.96). Older adults who frequently track their physical activity were 2.5 times more likely to engage in regular physical activity (aOR: 2.47; 95% CI: 1.08–5.64). Care partners who occasionally tracked their physical activity were 3.5 times more likely to engage in regular physical activity (aOR: 3.54; 95% CI: 1.54 – 8.11). Conclusion: Physical activity tracking is associated with greater physical activity engagement among older adults and care partners. Physical activity trackers can therefore serve as low-cost interventions to improve physical activity behavior.