Patterns of leisure-time physical activity participation in a British birth cohort at early old age.

Using data from a nationally representative British birth cohort we characterized the type and diversity of leisure-time physical activity that 2,188 participants (age 60–64 years) engaged in throughout the year by gender and obesity. Participants most commonly reported walking (71%), swimming (33%), floor exercises (24%) and cycling (15%). Sixty-two percent of participants reported $2 activities in the past year and 40% reported diversity on a regular basis. Regular engagement in different types of activity (cardio-respiratory, balance/flexibility and strength) was reported by 67%, 19% and 11% of participants, respectively. We found gender differences, as well as differences by obesity status, in the activities reported, the levels of activity diversity and activity type. Non-obese participants had greater activity diversity, and more often reported activities beneficial for cardio-respiratory health and balance/flexibility than obese participants. These findings may be used to inform the development of trials of physical activity interventions targeting older adults, and those older adults with high body mass index

The serious leisure career hierarchy of Australian motorcycle road racers

The academic study of motorcycle racing represents a relatively new area of research. While numerous studies have been conducted on motorcycle gangs, no studies have investigated the serious leisure world of the motorcycle racer, a sport in which motorcyclists may reach speeds in excess of 200 km/hour, with accidents likely to result in serious injury or death. A small sample of eight motorcycle road racers who, at the time of this research, were competing at the national level of the sport in Australia were interviewed by telephone with the conversations recorded for transcription and content analysis. An exploratory qualitative research design underpinned by grounded theory and involving the use of an interview schedule composed of open-structured interviews gave each rider the freedom to outline their own understandings and interpretations of how they engaged in their chosen sport. Common themes that emerged from their personal stories included a discussion of what one racer referred to as a ‘‘rider hierarchy’’ within the motorcycle road racing fraternity, which recognised different skills and experience levels among riders. The novice rider was placed at the bottom, entry level with the factory rider at the top. After analysis of the study data, a model was developed to describe the rider hierarchy as it was perceived by the study respondents