Measuring Metabolic-Unit Levels of Activity in the Well Elderly

Abstract

Nurses are responsible for the assessment of activity in the elderly. Often these assessments examine only abilities to ambulate and to perform activities of daily living. Other more comprehensive methods are available for nurses to use in their assessment and planning. The amount of energy expended during an activity is one method for determining a client's activity levels and for prescribing therapeutic levels of activities for clients. This article describes the use of a 3-day activity record to assess the energy expenditure of 118 clients participating in a research study. Activities associated with self-care, household chores, indoor leisure, and outdoor leisure were recorded during waking hours. Metabolic energy values were determined for each activity recorded, and mean activity scores were calculated. Mean activity scores ranged from 122.8 to 207.7, with a group mean of 150, indicating an average daily energy expenditure between metabolic-unit categories of 1.5 and 2.0. No significant associations between activity scores and sex or triceps skinfolds were found. Higher activity scores were associated with younger subjects and with married subjects. The results of this study indicate that the 3-day activity record is a useful and practical method for nurses' assessment of activity levels in the elderly.