OBJECTIVE Diet and physical activity are two lifestyle behaviours that are critical for healthy ageing. The aim of this study was to explore how older adults negotiate dietary and physical activity decisions to identify areas of intersection between these two behaviours and inform health promotion interventions targeting both diet and exercise. METHODS This exploratory study utilised a novel data collection approach that involved lay interviewers recruiting their peers to (i) participate in two interviews over a period of six months and (ii) make notes on their thoughts relating to diet and physical activity. Participants were 75 adults aged 60+ years in Western Australia (n = 64 females). RESULTS Three primary themes were identified: (i) the importance but difficulty of achieving energy balance; (ii) issues relating to managing food intake before, during, and after physical activity; and (iii) reciprocal opportunities for eating and physical activity. CONCLUSIONS Diet and physical activity are linked in complex ways, highlighting the need for multi-factorial interventions. IMPLICATIONS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH When developing communications strategies designed to encourage older people to both improve their diets and increase their physical activity, consideration could be given to leveraging existing perceived alignments between healthy eating and being active.

中文翻译：

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晚年饮食与运动关系的维度：一项定性研究。

目标 饮食和身体活动是对健康老龄化至关重要的两种生活方式。本研究的目的是探讨老年人如何协商饮食和身体活动决策，以确定这两种行为之间的交叉领域，并为针对饮食和运动的健康促进干预措施提供信息。方法 这项探索性研究采用了一种新颖的数据收集方法，其中涉及非专业访谈者招募他们的同伴（i）在六个月内参加两次访谈，以及（ii）记录他们对饮食和身体活动的想法。参与者是西澳大利亚州 75 名 60 岁以上的成年人（其中 64 名女性）。结果 确定了三个主要主题：(i) 实现能量平衡的重要性和难度；(ii) 与在体力活动之前、期间和之后管理食物摄入有关的问题；(iii) 饮食和身体活动的互惠机会。结论 饮食和身体活动以复杂的方式联系在一起，凸显了多因素干预的必要性。对公众健康的影响 在制定旨在鼓励老年人改善饮食和增加身体活动的沟通策略时，可以考虑利用健康饮食和积极活动之间现有的认知一致性。