No significant differences were found in objectively measured physical activity and sedentary behaviour between informal carers and non-carers, but adherence to UK CMOs' PA guidelines among carers was extremely low, with only 2% meeting the moderate-to-vigorous PA guideline and 1% meeting combined recommendations.
Key Findings
Results
No significant differences in physical activity or sedentary behaviour were observed between informal carers and non-carers after adjusting for covariates.
Mean daily step count was 9316.06 for carers versus 9554.11 for non-carers (p > 0.05)
Mean sitting time was 1.09 hours/day for carers versus 1.19 hours/day for non-carers (p > 0.05)
Analyses of Covariance were used to compare PA and SB outcomes between groups
Data were drawn from accelerometer measurements in the 'Age 46' Survey of the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70)
Results
Caring hours were not associated with differences in physical activity or sedentary behaviour outcomes.
No statistically significant associations were found between caring hours and any PA or SB outcome (p > 0.05)
Analyses of Covariance were performed to examine the impact of caring hours on PA and SB
This finding held after adjusting for covariates
Results
Adherence to UK Chief Medical Officers' physical activity guidelines among informal carers was extremely low.
Only 2% of carers met the moderate-to-vigorous physical activity guideline
26% of carers met the muscle-strengthening guideline
Only 1% of carers met the combined PA recommendations
Logistic regressions were used to identify predictors of guideline adherence
Demographic and health variables did not explain adherence to these guidelines
Background
This study provides the first objective benchmark of physical activity and sedentary behaviour patterns among informal carers in Great Britain.
Previous research on informal carers' activity levels had produced mixed findings
Objective PA and SB levels of informal carers in Great Britain were previously unknown
Accelerometer data from the BCS70 'Age 46' Survey were used to provide objective measures
The study used both Analyses of Covariance and Logistic Regressions to examine multiple aspects of PA and SB
Results
Demographic and health variables did not explain adherence to UK CMOs' physical activity guidelines among informal carers.
Logistic regressions were performed to identify predictors of adherence to PA guidelines
Neither demographic nor health variables significantly predicted guideline adherence
This was assessed across three guideline metrics: moderate-to-vigorous PA, muscle-strengthening, and combined recommendations
Russell E, Kirk A, Dunlop M, Tse D, Egan K. (2026). Objective Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Patterns Among Informal Carers in the BCS70 Cohort.. International journal of environmental research and public health. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph23020242