College of Public Health and Human Sciences

Walking cadence (steps/min) is associated with intensity of ambulatory behavior. This analysis provides normative values for peak 30-min cadence, an indicator of "natural best effort" during free-living behavior. A sample of 1,196 older adults (60-85+ years) with accelerometer data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2005-2006 was used. Peak 30-min cadence was calculated for each individual. Quintile-defined values were computed, stratified by sex and age groups. Smoothed sex-specific centile curves across the age-span were fitted using the LMS method. Peak 30-min cadence generally trended lower as age increased. The uppermost quintile value was >85 steps/min (men 60-64 years), the lowermost was <22 steps/min (women 85+ years). The highest 95 centile value was 103 steps/min (men 64-70 years), the lowest 5 centile value was 15 steps/min (women 85+ years). These normative values may be useful for evaluating older adults' "natural best effort" during free-living ambulatory behavior.