Prevalence of physical inactivity and associated factors among older adults in Gondar town, Northwest Ethiopia: a community-based cross-sectional study

Introduction Older adults are increasing in number in both developed and developing countries. However, as the world’s aging population grows, the burden of diseases among older people also increases. Despite this, co-occurring health problems due to physical inactivity in older adults have become a concern, and physical inactivity can be caused by different conditions. As a result, for older adults to have better health outcomes, early diagnosis of physical activity status and prevention of non-communicable diseases are crucial. There is a lack of data on the prevalence and associated factors of physical inactivity among older adults that is scarce in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in the study area, Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the prevalence and associated factors of physical inactivity among older adults in Gondar town, Northwest Ethiopia, in 2022. Methods A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from April 1st to June 30th, 2022, in Gondar town, Northwest Ethiopia. The data was collected by the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire, Volume 2 through face-to-face interviews among 838 participants. Data were entered into Epinfo version 7.1, then exported and analysed using the Statistical Package of Social Science version 25. A binary logistic regression model was performed to identify factors associated with physical inactivity. The result was considered statistically significant based on an adjusted odds ratio of 95% and a p -value less than 0.05. Result The prevalence of physical inactivity was 65.6% (95% CI: 62.1–68.9). Being female (AOR: 3.053, 95% CI:1.487–6.267), age group > = 80 (AOR: 4.082, 95% CI:1.234–13.497), primary school level (AOR: 3.020, 95% CI:1.433–6.367), no formal education (AOR: 8.573, 95% CI:2.843–25.847), unemployed (AOR: 10.273, 95% CI:5.628–18.753), and symptoms of depression (AOR: 7.152, 95% CI: 4.786–17.965) were significantly associated with physical inactivity. Conclusion Physical inactivity was relatively high among older adults in Gondar town. Being female, older age, having low levels of education, being unemployed, and having depression symptoms were associated with physical inactivity. We suggest promoting the health benefits of physical activity among females by reducing their burden, older age groups, and unemployed older adults, and avoiding depression among individuals.