Relationships between locomotive and non-locomotive MVPA and ‘ikigai’ in older Japanese adults

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between physical activity (PA) of moderate to vigorous intensity (MVPA) and ikigai in older Japanese adults. We evaluated the amount of PA using an activity meter equipped with a three-axis accelerometer. The measured activities were classified into locomotive PA and non-locomotive PA to clarify not only the relationship between MVPA and ikigai, but the types of activities that lead to increased ikigai as well.Participants were 86 community-dwelling older adult Japanese men and women. Measurement items included basic information (age, sex, BMI, and the number of underlying diseases), PA, Self-completed Occupational Performance Index (SOPI), and ikigai (the K-1 Scale). Confounding factors presumed to be related to ikigai were also elicited from previous studies. Associations of ikigai into three groups (high, middle, and low) with PA were analyzed by group comparisons and multivariate analyses.The comparison of PA indices among the high, middle, and low ikigai groups revealed that non-locomotive MVPA is significantly associated with ikigai (p < 0.05). In multiple comparisons, the low ikigai group was significantly and negatively affected by non-locomotive MVPA (p < 0.05) compared to the middle and high ikigai groups. Furthermore, in a multivariate analysis with ikigai as the dependent variable and sex, age, locomotive MVPA, and non-locomotive MVPA as independent variables, only non-locomotive MVPA (p < 0.05) was associated.These results suggest that non-locomotive MVPA is effective in enhancing ikigai.