Improving health in older adults by reducing sitting time

The Frail-LESS study (LEss Sitting and Sarcopenia to lower frailty in older adults)

We all lose muscle and strength as we get older (this is called sarcopenia) and this can affect how well we can do everyday activities. Reducing the amount of time spent sitting could help improve older people’s strength and balance, their ability to carry out everyday activities (e.g. standing up from a chair, walking and climbing stairs), and help them to maintain their independence for longer.

The aim of this research is to test a new programme to reduce sitting behaviour in older adults to improve their health and their ability to do everyday activities like standing up from a chair, walking and climbing stairs.

What the research involves

You will be randomly put into either the control group or the intervention group and will be in the study for 6 months. If you are in the intervention group, you will receive the Frail-LESS programme, which will include the following:

• An education programme that will tell you about the health risks of sitting too much and ways that you can try to reduce your sitting time.
• A device that you wear on your wrist that tracks your sitting and sends you alerts to encourage you to get up and move around.
• Sessions with a health coach who will help you in reducing your sitting.
• You will be able to join a Frail-LESS study support group, which will have other members in it from the study who will support each other in reducing their sitting.

If you are in the control group you will receive the Frail-LESS programme, but this will be delayed by approximately 24 weeks. We will take measures of strength, balance, muscle, sitting time, and your ability to do everyday activities at the start of the study and 3 and 6 months later. We will assess how many people we recruit for the study, how many complete the study and gather participants’ thoughts about the programme and measurements we take.