Metabolic Costs of Daily Activities in Older Adults

The work will evaluate the metabolic costs for daily activities across the lifespan and evaluate the influence of having functional impairments. The project will simultaneously conduct a cross-sectional and a case-control study. The primary aim will investigate cross-sectional association between older age and the energy expenditure of daily activities by recruiting approximately 25 adults in each of 7 age groups (20-30,30-40,40-50,50-60,60-70,70-80,80+) for a total of 180 individuals. A secondary aim will investigate the effect of functional impairments on the energy expenditure of daily activities by conducting a case-control study. An additional 25 older adults with functional impairment will be recruited in each age decade (60-70, 70-80, and 80+ years old) to accomplish this aim. Additional outcomes will evaluate rating of perceived exertion differences in daily activities. A tertiary aim will investigate using accelerometers to predict the metabolic costs of daily activities.