| Purpose. To describe the current level of physical activity and to explore the relationships between biological, sociocultural, and cognitive/affective factors and physical activity in older Korean-Americans.;Significance. Less is known about the barriers that are associated with maintaining physical activity or changing behavior from a sedentary to an active lifestyle among older adults from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. As the number of older Korean-Americans rises in the US, it is essential to consider their overall health, health risk factors, and ability to be physically active within their social environment.;Design. Cross-sectional.;Methods. A convenience sample (n=151) was recruited from San Francisco Bay Area and interviewed using questionnaires for physical activity, perceived health status, acculturation, self-efficacy, social support, and depressive symptoms. The people who were either active or sedentary, 65 years of age or older, ambulatory, community-dwelling, and literate Korean-American were eligible.;Results. Average age was 77.5 (+/- 6.4) and 80.8% were female. 66.9% of our sample and 75.4% of older Korean-American women were less active than recommended public health standards. The preferred physical activity in our sample was walking. Being male, higher education, better health perception, higher exercise self-efficacy, higher social support, and greater acculturation were statistically significant and positively associated with physical activity. Elders who had mild or severe depressive symptoms and more health problems were less physically active. Gender was moderately associated with physical activity, while education, perceived health status, social support, acculturation, exercise self-efficacy, depressive symptoms, and health problems were showed a weaker association with physical activity. Multivariate analysis showed that gender, social support, and self-efficacy were significantly associated with physical activity levels. Overall, approximately 26% of the variability in physical activity was explained by the 8 variables (R2=0.261, F8,142=6.257, p < 0.01). A logistic regression analysis showed that gender and self-efficacy were robust and associated statistically significantly with physical activity. Social support showed borderline significance.;Conclusion. Older Korean-Americans have lower level of physical activity than recommended public health standards. This study contributes empirically derived data on the factors that are associated with regular physical activity in older Korean-Americans.;Implication. Our results add to the science of physical activity and help in understanding factors that contribute to physical activity among older Korean-Americans. This information will be helpful when designing intervention to promote and maintain physical activity in Korean-Americans. |
