Social and non-health related behaviors are associated with aging successfully, operationalized by self-perceived health. The authors examined relationships among social engagement, physical activity, frailty, and health in a lifespan sample (N = 732) drawn from the Louisiana Healthy Aging Study (LHAS). Four age groups were compared: younger (21–44 years), middle-aged (45–64 years), older (65–84 years), and oldest-old adults (85 to 101 years). Linear regression analyses indicated that, after controlling for sociodemographic factors, physical activity and hours spent outside of the house were positively associated with self-reported health. Importantly, physical activity and hours out remained significant when frailty was accounted for. These data indicate that social and physical activities remain an important determinant of self- perceived health into very late adulthood despite variations in physical frailty. Implications of these data for current views on successful aging and strategies to promote health and wellness in later life are discussed.
Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 1 citations exist upstream.
Imported from OpenAlex (CC0) — nothing here is generated.