The aim of the current study was to provide new evidence for the associations between physical activity (PA), sedentary behavior (SB), and fear of falling (FOF) by investigating the impact of replacing 30 min SB with both light-intensity PA (LPA) and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) on FOF in older Chinese women. Cross-sectional data from a Physical Activity and Health in Older Women Study (PAHIOWS) were analyzed for 1114 Chinese community-dwelling older women. Variables of focus were demographics, FOF, objectively measured PA and SB. Three different logistic models were used to examine the associations between PA, SB, and FOF (a single parameter model, a partition model and an isotemporal substitution). The results showed that reallocating 30 min/day of MVPA by SB was significantly associated with higher FOF (OR = 1.37; 95%CI: 1.04−1.79; p = 0.024), reallocating 30 min/day of SB by MVPA was significantly associated with a reduction of FOF (OR = 0.73; 95%CI: 0.56−0.96; p = 0.024). No significant associations were found between FOF with reallocating other activities by LPA and vice versa (p > 0.05). Subgroup analysis showed the isotemporal-substituted effects of MVPA and SB on FOF were stronger in older women with fall experience. In conclusion, the current findings showed that the increase of MVPA engagement and reduction of SB engagement may be most beneficial for FOF management and should be involved in public health guidelines, especially for older women with fall experience.
Keywords: fear; fear of falling; isotemporal substitution; physical activity; secondary behavior.