Association between willingness to exercise and incident disability in older adults: a prospective longitudinal cohort study

To investigate whether the willingness to exercise (WTE) and exercise habits affect the incidence of disability among older adults.

This study included 8,354 individuals (72.5 ± 6.2 years, 55.9% female). The participants were divided into three categories based on their WTE: unwillingness to exercise, willingness to exercise (but without exercise habits), and exercise habits. The incidence of disability was prospectively determined within 24 months of the follow-up. Cox regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between WTE and the incidence of disability.

Overall, 600 (7.2%), 4,703 (56.3%), and 3,051 (36.5%) participants were classified as unwillingness to exercise, willingness to exercise, and exercise habits, respectively. Compared with the unwillingness to exercise group, the willingness to exercise group (hazard ratio [HR] 0.71, 95%Confidence Interval [CI] 0.52–0.96) and the exercise habits group (HR 0.65, 95%CI 0.46–0.92) had a lower risk of disability incidence.

These results suggest that WTE reduces the risk of disability in older adults. Therefore, the importance of increasing WTE to prevent the occurrence of disabilities is clear. Our results suggest that even though physical activity declines with age, it is important to have the desire to exercise and develop exercise habits.