Walking sports and subjective wellbeing in older adults: a comparative study

Objectives Walking sports, whereby traditional disciplines of sport modify gameplay by limiting physical activity to walking only, may offer benefits for physical activity engagement and subjective wellbeing outcomes in older adults. Questionnaires were used to collect physical activity and health related data from a cross section of older South Australian walking sports participants (n=56), which was compared to a population-based sample of their peers (n=1817) to explore these potential benefits. Methods Ordinal logistic regression and linear regression were used for between-group comparisons across three subgroups of participants, who reported engaging in: (1) walking sports, (2) traditional sports, and (3) no sport. All analyses were adjusted for age, marital status, education and employment status. Results Compared to walking sports participants, those who did not participate in sports were more than twice as likely to report poorer self-rated health. Walking sports and traditional sports participants reported meeting the minimum weekly physical activity requirements. No significant differences in subjective wellbeing were found between the three participant subgroups. Conclusions Older adults who participated in walking sports had significantly higher self-rated health and physical activity levels, than those not involved in sports. Therefore, sport organisations should consider offering walking sports programs to engage older adults who face barriers to engaging in traditional sports, supporting their continued involvement in physical activity.