Physical Activity Classification Meeting Daily Life Conditions for Older Subjects

Physical inactivity can lead to several age-related issues such as falls, movement disorders and loss of independence in older adults. Therefore, promoting physical activity in daily life and tracking daily life activities are essential components for healthy aging and wellbeing. Recent advances in the MEMS devices make it happen to wirelessly integrate miniature motion capturing devices and use them in personal health care and physical activity monitoring systems in daily life conditions. Consequently, various systems have been developed to classify the activities of daily living. However, the scope and implementation of such systems are limited to laboratory-based investigations and they are mainly developed utilizing the sample population of younger adults. Therefore, this dissertation aims to develop innovative solutions for physical activity classification, with a specific focus on the elderly population in free-living conditions

Physical activity classification meeting daily life conditions

Physical activity is one of the key factors in determining the personal health and well-being of human beings in daily life conditions. Healthy ageing and physical activity has a strong association and ageing has become one of the highly concentrated area of research community in the past decade due to the expected increase in the elderly population. A statistical survey published by European Union (EU) in 2012 shows that the elderly population (over 65 years) of Europe, is expected to increase from 87.5 million to 152.6 million (65.1 million increase) during the period from 2010 to 2016 [1]. Physical inactivity and more sedentary life style can lead towards many chronic and life threatening diseases in older adults such as diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular and other lethal diseases. These damages can be controlled by performing various activities and vigorous exercises in daily life, in addition to medications to promote a healthier lifestyle [2]