Relationships between physical activity across lifetime and health outcomes in older adults: Results from the NuAge cohort

•PA declined after age 65 in all four domains in men and women.•Relationships between health and PA are domain-specific.•Significant health benefits could be achieved by practicing PA at older age.

This study aims to (1) describe participation in four physical activity (PA) domains across life and (2) examine the influence of PA during adolescence, early, middle, and later adulthood on health variables at older age.This observational study was conducted in 1378 generally healthy older adults (age 67-84 at baseline in 2003-2005; 52% women) in Quebec, Canada. Using a modified version of the interviewer-administered Lifetime Total Physical Activity Questionnaire (LTPAQ) and life events calendar to facilitate the recall, participants reported the frequency, duration, and intensity of occupational (OPA), commuting (CPA), household (HPA), and leisure time (LTPA) they participated in at age 15, 25, 45, and 65, and at the first follow-up (age 68-85 in 2005-2006). Fat mass, lean body mass, body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, fasting glucose, systolic and diastolic blood pressures, self-reported chronic diseases, and socio-demographic data were assessed at baseline.Changes in PA over time differed by sex in each domain. However, there was a general decline in all PA domains in both sexes after age 65. In multiple regression analyses, LTPA at first-follow-up was associated with more favourable waist-to-hip ratio in both sexes, fat mass in women and fat mass percentage in men, whereas CPA, OPA, and HPA across life were not consistently associated with health variables.Older adults' LTPA at first follow-up was related to health variables, but PA recalled during adolescence, early adulthood, and mid-life was not. Results support the idea that current PA is positively related to better health outcomes.