A short walk a day shortens the hospital stay: physical activity and the demand for hospital services for older adults.

OBJECTIVES To estimate the impact of increased physical activity on utilization of hospital services among older adults in Canada. METHODS The paper uses the Canadian Community Health Survey Cycle 2.1, and count data regression models. The study sample includes 18,196 adults aged 65 and above. Specification tests are used in order to identify the appropriate count data model, and sensitivity analyses are conducted to check the robustness of the results. RESULTS The paper shows that physical activity is negatively associated with the probability of staying in the hospital as well as the numbers of hospital stay among users. However, the potential gain decreases as current activity level increases. The results also imply that an additional 20-minute daily walk by inactive older Canadians would decrease total hospital stays by about 2% of the total annual inpatient days. This is equivalent to 1.2% of total hospital bed capacity in a given year. CONCLUSIONS Health promotion efforts to increase the level of activity among older adults may create significant savings for the health care system. The total potential gain from additional physical activity is substantial, especially for those who are inactive. However, these gains can be materialized if people stay active enough to derive positive health benefits of physical activity. These results, therefore, should be evaluated in the light of findings from related literature on health and physical activity.