ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Aging and Public Health
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1528952
This article is part of the Research TopicIntegrated Strategies for Lifelong Health: Multidimensional Approaches to Aging and Lifestyle InterventionsView all 31 articles
Defining health and lifestyle characteristics of the age 50+ population: Cluster analysis of data from the PROTECT study
Provisionally accepted
- 1Health and Well-being Centre of Excellence, Givaudan UK Limited, Ashford, United Kingdom
- 2Qi Statistics Limited, West Malling, United Kingdom
- 3Ecog Pro Limited, Bristol, United Kingdom
- 4Department of Health & Community Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom
- 5Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, England, United Kingdom
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The proportion of older people in the world is increasing and evidence suggests that older adults interact differently with products. Understanding this change is necessary to develop products that satisfy this cohort's needs. Chronological age is typically used to segment older consumers however, given the diversity of ageing, a multi-dimensional approach considering other factors contributing to this behaviour change is important. Using data from the PROTECT study in the UK, this research aimed to identify clusters of older people with distinct characteristics and investigate whether chronological age was fundamental in defining these groups.Methods: Twelve variables, covering measures related to physical capabilities, mental health and lifestyle choices, were derived from the baseline questionnaire data from the PROTECT study and subjected to a kmeans cluster analysis. Subsequent analyses investigated the association between participants' cluster membership and other key variables.Results: Cluster analysis identified 8 unique clusters of older adults differentiated on factors such as physical health (physical activity, pain, BMI and sleep quality), mental health (cognitive decline, depression and anxiety) and lifestyle (social events, puzzle and technology use and vitamin intake). Age was considered to be an important contributory factor to some clusters however did not explain all differences observed between the groups.Discussion: Our findings indicate that in addition to chronological age, health and lifestyle variables are important in defining the unique characteristics of different clusters of those in the 50+ cohort. Future research should consider the multi-dimensional nature of ageing when conducting research with older consumers.
Keywords: successful aging, Life events and contexts, Life course and developmental change, Multidimensional approach, healthy aging
Received: 15 Nov 2024; Accepted: 01 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Kontaris, Wakeling, Brooker, Corbett, Ballard, Aarsland and Churchill. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Emily Kontaris, Health and Well-being Centre of Excellence, Givaudan UK Limited, Ashford, United Kingdom
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.