{ "abstract": "Background: Physical activity (PA) is essential for healthy ageing, yet older adults in rural areas face particular constraints. This study applied Amartya Sen’s Capability Approach to examine how older adults in a rural German municipality perceive their opportunities for an active lifestyle and to identify factors associated with high PA engagement. Methods: A cross-sectional total population survey was conducted in a rural municipality in Bavaria, Germany. All residents aged ≥60 years (N = 593) were invited by post. Perceived capabilities were assessed using an instrument grounded in the Capability Approach. High PA engagement was defined as being physically active for at least 30 minutes on ≥4 days per week. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify associated factors; multiple imputation by chained equations was used as a sensitivity analysis. Results: The response rate was 33.0% (N = 196); 166 respondents (84.7%) had complete data for the primary model. Mean age was 69.5 years (SD 7.6); 49.0% were men. Most participants (58.8%) rated their health as good, and 23.5% met the threshold for high PA engagement. Mean daily sedentary time was 6.12 hours (SD 3.37), higher in men than in women (6.64 vs 5.61 hours, p = 0.043). In the multivariable model, fewer perceived environmental opportunities were independently associated with lower odds of high PA engagement (OR 0.59 per SD, 95% CI 0.37–0.95), and poorer self-rated health showed a comparable association that did not reach conventional significance (OR 0.65 per SD, 95% CI 0.41–1.02). Under multiple imputation the association with poorer self-rated health was statistically significant (OR 0.60, 95% CI 0.38–0.94), as was male sex (OR 0.44, 95% CI 0.20–0.95), whereas the association with perceived environmental opportunities was no longer significant (OR 0.67, 95% CI 0.43–1.03). Age and social support were not associated with PA engagement. Living alone was associated with markedly lower perceived capabilities across several domains. Conclusions: Perceived environmental opportunities and health status, rather than information or social support, distinguished more from less active older adults in this rural setting. Capability-enhancing interventions should prioritise the built environment and should give particular attention to older adults living alone. Community-Based Participatory Research may help match provision to the capability sets of rural residents.", "abstract_shown": true, "affiliations": [ "Centre for Primary Care, University Hospital Regensburg and University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany", "Medical Sociology, Department for Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany", "Australian New Zealand Transplant and Cellular Therapies, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia", "Department of Orthopedics, University Hospital Center Regensburg, Bad Abbach, Germany", "Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany" ], "article_type": "Research Article", "arxiv": null, "author_total": 11, "authors": [ { "affs": [ 0 ], "name": "Sascha Vu-Eickmann", "orcid": "0000-0002-0651-7399" }, { "affs": [ 1 ], "name": "Alexandra Sauter" }, { "affs": [ 1, 2 ], "name": "Zeineb Sassi" }, { "affs": [ 3 ], "name": "Patricia Vu-Eickmann" }, { "affs": [ 1 ], "name": "Dominik Morlok" }, { "affs": [ 1 ], "name": "Christine Bernardi" }, { "affs": [ 1 ], "name": "Lisa Boyer" }, { "affs": [ 0 ], "name": "Victoria Koschemann", "orcid": "0009-0003-6363-3681" }, { "affs": [ 4 ], "name": "Andrea Weber" }, { "affs": [ 1 ], "name": "Anne Herrmann" }, { "affs": [ 1 ], "name": "Thomas Okon" } ], "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3rjwbh9xqktmd.bib", "cited_by": 0, "doi": "10.1371/journal.pone.0348937", "fulltext_url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13712601/", "id": "3rjwbh9xqktmd", "issns": [ "1932-6203" ], "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0348937", "language": "en", "licence": "CC-BY-4.0", "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0", "licence_source": "article", "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "metadata_licence": null, "native_subjects": [ [ "heading", "Adults" ], [ "heading", "Age Groups" ], [ "heading", "Aging" ], [ "heading", "Behavior" ], [ "heading", "Biology and Life Sciences" ], [ "heading", "Built Environment" ], [ "heading", "Developmental Biology" ], [ "heading", "Ecology and Environmental Sciences" ], [ "heading", "Elderly" ], [ "heading", "Ethnicities" ], [ "heading", "Europe" ], [ "heading", "European People" ], [ "heading", "European Union" ], [ "heading", "Exercise" ], [ "heading", "Geographical locations" ], [ "heading", "German People" ], [ "heading", "Germany" ], [ "heading", "Medicine and Health Sciences" ], [ "heading", "Organism Development" ], [ "heading", "People and Places" ], [ "heading", "People and places" ], [ "heading", "Physical Activity" ], [ "heading", "Physical Fitness" ], [ "heading", "Physiological Processes" ], [ "heading", "Physiology" ], [ "heading", "Population Groupings" ], [ "heading", "Psychology" ], [ "heading", "Public and Occupational Health" ], [ "heading", "Research Article" ], [ "heading", "Sedentary Behavior" ], [ "heading", "Social Sciences" ], [ "heading", "Sports Science" ], [ "heading", "Sports and Exercise Medicine" ], [ "heading", "Terrestrial Environments" ], [ "openalex", "2737|Physical Activity and Health" ], [ "plos", "/Biology and life sciences/Developmental biology/Organism development/Aging" ], [ "plos", "/Biology and life sciences/Physiology/Physiological processes/Aging" ], [ "plos", "/Biology and life sciences/Psychology/Behavior/Sedentary behavior" ], [ "plos", "/Biology and life sciences/Sports science/Sports and exercise medicine/Exercise" ], [ "plos", "/Ecology and environmental sciences/Terrestrial environments/Built environment" ], [ "plos", "/Medicine and health sciences/Public and occupational health/Physical activity" ], [ "plos", "/Medicine and health sciences/Public and occupational health/Physical activity/Physical fitness/Exercise" ], [ "plos", "/Medicine and health sciences/Sports and exercise medicine/Exercise" ], [ "plos", "/People and places/Geographical locations/Europe/European Union/Germany" ], [ "plos", "/People and places/Population groupings/Age groups/Adults/Elderly" ], [ "plos", "/People and places/Population groupings/Ethnicities/European people/German people" ], [ "plos", "/Social sciences/Psychology/Behavior/Sedentary behavior" ] ], "openalex": "W7223906342", "pdf_url": "https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0348937&type=printable", "pmcid": "PMC13712601", "pmid": "42945324", "published": "2026-10-27", "publisher": "Public Library of Science", "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3rjwbh9xqktmd.ris", "sources": [ { "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:17Z", "native_id": "10.1371/journal.pone.0348937", "source": "plos", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0348937" }, { "first_seen": "2026-10-31T12:23:08Z", "native_id": "PMC13712601", "source": "pmc", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0348937" } ], "subjects": [ { "field": "biology", "origin": "plos:developmental biology", "subfield": "developmental-biology" }, { "field": "medicine", "origin": "plos:public and occupational health", "subfield": "epidemiology-public-health" }, { "field": "medicine", "origin": "plos:physiology", "subfield": "physiology" } ], "title": "Older adults’ perceived capabilities for an active lifestyle in a rural german municipality: A cross-sectional study", "title_text": "Older adults’ perceived capabilities for an active lifestyle in a rural german municipality: A cross-sectional study", "type": "peer-reviewed", "updated_at": "2026-10-31T12:23:08Z", "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3rjwbh9xqktmd", "venue": "PLOS One", "versions": [] }