The intensity of the role of grandparents influences health

It is often assumed that grandparents who care for their grandchildren engage in more activities, such as playing and going out. This active lifestyle while in care is expected to improve their mental and physical health, thereby increasing life expectancy. However, according to a recent study, published in the journal Journal of Aging and Healththe expected effects are not those observed.

Grandparenthood: greater intensity of caregiving was linked to less physical activity

To reach this conclusion, researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (England) used data from 2014 from the Health and Retirement Study, a cohort with a nationally representative panel of the population. American women over 50 and their spouses. It covered 17,851 elderly people in total. Next, they examined several items indicating grandparenting intensity and its association with physical activity using three perspectives: “grandparents are active, the most important constraints perspective and the selection bias perspective.”

According to the results, the more hours a grandparent spent doing activities with their grandchildren and whether or not they lived with them, the less able they were to exercise. Intensified caregiving has a negative effect on physical activity and general health, especially among grandparents in multigenerational households, those raising grandchildren without parents, older grandparents, those separated , divorced, widowed or never married and women.

By adding “grandparental responsibilities”, the disadvantaged “find it difficult to find free time”

The authors found that most often, grandparents from socially and economically disadvantaged groups are the primary caregivers. This is why the effects of care intensification are most pronounced among these populations. “On average, socially and economically disadvantaged people already struggle to care for themselves and find free time. Add to that the responsibilities of grandparenting and caregiving, and they have less time for activity physical, which worsens their health”, explained Patricia Drentea, who led the work.

At the same time, the team observed that grandparents with a higher socio-economic and educational level were less likely to engage in intense grandparenting activity because they “have more autonomy and resources to engage in leisure activities.”

In the findings, the researchers acknowledge that being a grandparent can benefit mental and physical health. Nevertheless, better support for grandparents, particularly those in disadvantaged health and economic situations, is needed, as their caregiving responsibilities often limit their ability to engage in health-promoting physical activities .