In a rural Bavarian municipality, perceived environmental opportunities and self-rated health, rather than information or social support, distinguished more from less active older adults, and living alone was linked to markedly lower perceived capabilities across several domains.
Only about one in four older adults in the rural municipality met the threshold for high physical activity engagement.
Older adults in the sample spent a substantial amount of time sedentary each day, and men were more sedentary than women.
Fewer perceived environmental opportunities were independently associated with lower odds of high PA engagement in the primary complete-case model.
Poorer self-rated health showed an association with lower odds of high PA engagement that did not reach conventional significance in the primary model but was significant under multiple imputation.
Male sex was associated with lower odds of high PA engagement under multiple imputation.
The association between perceived environmental opportunities and high PA engagement was no longer statistically significant under multiple imputation.
Age and social support were not associated with high PA engagement.
Living alone was associated with markedly lower perceived capabilities across several domains.
The authors conclude that interventions should prioritise the built environment and consider Community-Based Participatory Research to match provision to residents' capability sets.
This study surveyed older adults (aged 60 and over) living in a rural municipality in Bavaria, Germany, to understand how they see their opportunities for staying physically active. About one-third of the 593 invited residents responded (196 people). Only around one in four was active for at least 30 minutes on four or more days a week, and on average people spent more than six hours a day sitting, with men sitting more than women. People who felt their local surroundings offered fewer opportunities for activity, and those who rated their health as poorer, were less likely to be highly active. The results were not fully consistent across analyses: when missing data were filled in statistically, the link with health and with being male became statistically significant, while the link with environmental opportunities weakened to the point of not being significant. Age and social support were not related to activity levels. Older adults living alone reported markedly lower perceived capabilities in several areas. This research suggests that improving the physical environment, such as the places and facilities available for being active, and paying special attention to people who live alone, may be useful ways to support active ageing in rural areas. Because the study captured a single point in time and only a third of invited people responded, it cannot show cause and effect or necessarily represent all older rural residents.
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Upload Your LabsVu-Eickmann S, Sauter A, Sassi Z, Vu-Eickmann P, Morlok D, Bernardi C, et al.. (2026). Older adults' perceived capabilities for an active lifestyle in a rural german municipality: A cross-sectional study.. PloS one. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0348937