The Effect of Temporal Discounting on Exercise Behavior in Elders

Purpose: As people age, they become more susceptible to disease and disability.  Elders are at risk of developing morbidities related to risk factors like injury, social isolation and multiple health disorders. A healthy lifestyle can delay or prevent elders from developing both disease and disability.  Despite the known benefits of exercise, nearly 85% of elders fail to achieve the recommended amount of physical exercise prescribed by the CDC.  Many researchers have speculated that temporal discounting underlies several socially important human behaviors such as addiction, obesity and unsafe sex.  However, exercise or lack of exercise had not been adequately investigated from the discounting perspective and discounting in general had not been explored in elders.  The purpose of this study was to explore temporal discounting in elders, compare discounting rates among exercisers and non-exercisers and attempt to explain a large portion of the non-execising behavior in elders.

Methods: This study used a non-experimental correlational design with two groups of cognitively intact community dwelling elders (60 years of age or older).  A sample of 134 participants was recruited from Northeast Arkansas. Data was collected using a demographic form and the Kirby Delay discounting Monetary Choice Questionnaire (MCQ).  All demographics were analyzed descriptively.  A comparison of means of the temporal discounting rates between exercisers and non-exercisers will be performed using a two sample t-test.

Results: Results are still pending the final data entry for the project.

Conclusion: The results of this study will add to the overall depth of nursing knowledge on the topic of exercise behavior among elders.  Hopefully, leading to a better understanding of why many do not exercise.  Thus, helping health care providers to create better programs that fit this population's needs and increasing execise behavior in elders which will ultimately decrease morbidity in this population.