Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop 60-second epoch accelerometer intensity cutpoints for vertical axis count and vector magnitude (VM) output from hip-worn tri-axial accelerometers among women 60-91 years. We also compared these cutpoints against cutpoints derived by multiplying 15-second epoch cutpoints by four.
Methods: Two hundred apparently healthy women wore an ActiGraph GT3X+ accelerometer on their hip while performing a variety of laboratory-based activities that were sedentary (watching television, assembling a puzzle), low light (washing/drying dishes), high light (laundry, dust mopping), or MVPA (400-meter walk) intensity. Oxygen uptake was measured using an Oxycon™ portable calorimeter. Sedentary behavior and physical activity intensity cutpoints for vertical axis and VM counts were derived for 60-second epochs from receiver operating characteristic (ROC) and by multiplying the 15-second cutpoints by four); both were compared to oxygen uptake.
Results: The median age was 74.5 years (interquartile range 70-83). The 60-second epoch cutpoints for vertical counts were 0 sedentary, 1-73 low light, 74-578 high light, and >=579 MVPA. The 60-second epoch cutpoints for VM were 0-88 sedentary, 89-663 low light, 664-1730 high light, and >=1731 MVPA. For both sets of cutpoints, the ROC approach yielded more accurate estimates than the multiplication approach.
Conclusion: The derived 60-second epoch cutpoints for vertical counts and VM can be applied to epidemiologic studies to define sedentary behavior and physical activity intensities in older adult populations.
Keywords: accelerometer; calibration; metabolic equivalent; oxygen uptake; physical behavior.