Older Adults Limit Movements With Rising Temperatures

THURSDAY, Aug. 13, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- Among older adults, higher temperatures are associated with lower life-space mobility, the geographic footprint of where people live, work, and recreate, according to a pilot study published in the May issue of Innovation in Aging.Annabel X. Tan, Ph.D., M.P.H., from Stanford University in California, and colleagues evaluated the feasibility of a mobile health app designed to objectively capture life-space and to demonstrate its utility through a downstream analysis of ambient temperature and life-space mobility. The analysis included app data from 82 older adult participants.The researchers found that the app successfully captured high-resolution longitudinal mobility data over two weeks per participant. Higher daily average temperature was significantly and nonlinearly negatively associated with life-space in the summer. The peak life-space ellipse area was seen at 28.8 degrees Celsius. For every degree greater than 28.8 degrees Celsius, there was a statistically significant decrease in ellipse area by 2.97 km2. Similar patterns were seen for maximum and total distances traveled."This is the first study to show that higher temperatures can constrict life-space," coauthor Michelle Odden, Ph.D., also from Stanford University, said in a statement. "That could result in less social engagement, less physical activity, and less time spent in the community -- all of those things we know are important for healthy aging."Abstract/Full Text.Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

Older Adults Limit Movements With Rising Temperatures

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