Older adults often face barriers to obtaining recommended diet, physical activity, and fitness levels. Understanding these patterns can inform effective interventions targeting health beliefs and ...behavior. This cross-sectional study included a multicultural sample of 58 older adults (aged 55+ years, M=71.98) living in independent senior housing in urban Southcentral Alaska. Participants completed a questionnaire and the Senior Fitness Test that assessed self-reported fruit and vegetable intake, physical activity, self-efficacy, and functional fitness. T-tests and bivariate correlation analyses were used to test six hypotheses. Results indicated that participants had low physical activity but had a mean fruit and vegetable intake that was statistically significantly higher than the hypothesized "low" score. Only 4.26% of participants met functional fitness standards for balance/agility, and 8.51% met standards for lower-body strength. However, 51.1% met standards for upper-body strength and 46.8% met standards for endurance The results also indicated that nutrition self-efficacy and exercise self-efficacy were positively related to fruit and vegetable intake and physical activity levels, respectively. Interestingly, income was not related to nutrition or activity patterns. These data complicate the picture on dietary and physical activity patterns for older adults in Alaska and offer recommendations for future health promotion activities.
Various positive effects of exercise on older women have been identified in many studies. Despite the importance of preserving the health of brain as well as body, few studies have investigated the ...effects of strength exercise on the brain health of older women to date. This study aimed to identify the effects of 24weeks of the Growing Stronger program on hippocampus volume and functional fitness of older women.
Twenty one older women aged 67 to 81 participated in this study. Growing Stronger, which is a strength exercise program that is safe and effective for women and men of all ages, was conducted. The 11 strength exercise group (n=11) participated for 50–80min a day three times per week for a total of 24weeks. The control group maintained their lifestyles without any special intervention. Participants were given a pre-test (before applying for the program) and post-test (after 24weeks) to identify effects of the program. The data were analyzed with repeated measures ANOVA.
Hippocampus volume was significantly increased in the strength exercise group, but decreased in the control group. Moreover, there was an interaction effect (p<0.001) between time and group. Strength exercise has improved upper and lower body strength, lower body flexibility, agility, and dynamic balance. Upper body flexibility significantly decreased in the strength exercise group, but there was no interaction between the strength exercise group and the control group.
The results of this study suggest that strength exercise has beneficial effects on hippocampus volume and functional fitness. Therefore, strength exercise can be an effective exercise for older women.
Introduction: A sufficient level of aerobic endurance, strength and balance is an important precondition for performing almost all activities of daily living with advancing age. Multimodal physical ...interventions seem to be an effective tool to improve overall fitness for of elderly. However, it is not known to what extent such interventions are effective in healthy and physically active elderly people. Therefore, this study aims to assess the effect of an 8-week multimodal training programme focused on aerobic endurance, strength and dynamic balance in physically active elderly females. Methods: A total of 25 physically active women over 60 years of age completed and 8-week multimodal training programme with two 60-minute sessions a week. Their functional performance before and after the intervention was evaluated with the Chair stand test, Arm curl test, 2-minute step test, Chair sit-and-reach test, Back scratch test and Foot up and go test. A program STATISTICA was used for data analyses (TIBCO Software Inc., 2018; version 13). Results: An 8-week multicomponent training programme resulted in a statistically significant performance in 2-minute step test. Moreover, training resulted in a significant reduction of BMI. Surprisingly, training resulted in the significantly prolonged time in the Foot up and go test. No other significant changes have been observed. The training programme resulted in a statistically significant improvement in the 2-minute step test (p=0.007). Moreover, the BMI index significantly decreased after the programme (p=0.037). Surprisingly, training resulted in the significantly prolonged time in the Foot up and go test (p=0.011). No other significant changes have been observed. Conclusion: The 8-week multimodal training programme seems to be an effective tool for increasing aerobic endurance in physically active elderly women. This training does not contribute to more pronounced improvements of other abilities.
The development of innovative solutions that allow the aging population to remain healthier and independent longer is essential to alleviate the burden that this increasing segment of the population ...supposes for the long term sustainability of the public health systems. It has been claimed that promoting physical activity could prevent functional decline. However, given the vulnerability of this population, the activity prescription requires to be tailored to the individual's physical condition. We propose mobile Senior Fitness Test (m-SFT), a novel m-health system, that allows the health practitioner to determine the elderly physical condition by implementing a smartphone-based version of the senior fitness test (SFT). The technical reliability of m-SFT has been tested by carrying out a comparative study in seven volunteers (53-61 years) between the original SFT and the proposed m-health system obtaining high agreement (intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) between 0.93 and 0.99). The system usability has been evaluated by 34 independent health experts (mean = 36.64 years; standard deviation = 6.26 years) by means of the System Usability Scale (SUS) obtaining an average SUS score of 84.4 out of 100. Both results point out that m-SFT is a reliable and easy to use m-health system for the evaluation of the elderly physical condition, also useful in intervention programs to follow-up the patient's evolution.
Physical fitness concerns a set of attributes related to the ability to perform physical activity that may justify the symptoms reported by the elderly in the context of sarcopenia.
This study aimed ...to investigate the relationship between the perception (symptomatology) of physical functioning (what the person thinks they are capable of) and the capacity itself for physical functioning in elderly people in northern Brazil.
Cross-sectional study that analyzed 312 elderly people (72.6 ± 7.8 years) from the city of Novo Aripuanã, Amazonas, Brazil. Sarcopenia symptomatology was assessed using the SARC-F, a 5-item questionnaire designed for screening sarcopenia in older individuals in five domains: strength, walking aids, difficulty getting up from a chair, difficulty climbing stairs, and falls. Physical fitness was assessed by the Senior Fitness Test (SFT) battery including balance evaluated with the short version of the Fullerton Advanced Balance scale (FAB).
ROC curve analysis revealed that the tests with the greatest ability to discriminate participants with significant symptoms for sarcopenia (≥4 points on SARC-F) were arm curl and 6 min walk: the probability of suspected sarcopenia increased exponentially with an arm curl < 11.5 reps for men (se = 71%; sp = 69%; AUC = 0.706, 95% CI: 0.612-0.788;
= 0.013) and women (se = 81%; sp = 51%; AUC = 0.671, 95% CI: 0.601-0.735;
≤ 0.001) or with a 6-min walk <408.5 m for men (se = 71%; sp = 63%; AUC = 0.720, 95% CI: 0.628-0.690;
= 0.001) and <366.0 m for women (se = 69%; sp = 58%; AUC = 0.692, 95% CI: 0.623-0.755;
= 0.0001).
Physical fitness assessed through the senior fitness test, particularly the 30-s-arm curl test and the 6-min walk test, can discriminate for suspected symptoms of sarcopenia.
The purposes of this study were to compare the differences in physical fitness between community-dwelling older women fallers and non-fallers, with and without a risk of falling, and to investigate ...the relation between physical fitness and falling risk factors. This study was a secondary data analysis from a community- and exercise-based fall-prevention program. Baseline assessments pertaining to body weight and height, self-reported chronic diseases, the 12-item fall risk questionnaire (FRQ), senior fitness test, single-leg stand test, and handgrip strength test were extracted. Participants (n = 264) were classified into fallers and non-fallers, and sub-classified according to the risk of falling (FRQ ≥4 and <4). While controlling for the effect of age, body mass index (BMI), and multimorbidity, one-way analysis of covariance indicated that older women with a risk of falling showed poorer performances of the 8-foot up-and-go, 2-min step and 30-s chair stand compared with those without a risk of falling, regardless of the history of falls. Additionally, weaker grip strength was found in non-fallers with falling risk. Some significant, but low-to-moderate, correlations were found between physical fitness tests and fall risk factors in the FRQ, particularly in gait/balance problem and leg muscle weakness. Proactive efforts are encouraged to screen and manage deterioration in the identified physical fitness.
Resistance exercise effectively improves bone mineral density (BMD) and muscle quality (e.g., muscle mass and muscle strength). The present study aimed to examine the effect of a 24-week resistance ...exercise training (RT) program on body composition, BMD, functional fitness, and isokinetic muscle strength in obese older women. Forty obese older women were initially enrolled. Among them, 30 participants (age: 80.55 ± 4.94 years; body fat percentage: 36.25 ± 3.44%) completed the study. The participants were randomly assigned into two groups: the RT group (n = 15) and the control (CON) group (n = 15). The RT group participated in the exercise for 60 min per session and two sessions per week for 24 weeks. Pre-test and post-test body composition, BMD, functional fitness, and isokinetic muscle strength were evaluated. The RT group increased significantly in functional fitness (hand grip strength: 1.70 kg,
< 0.01, and lower body strength: 3.87 n,
< 0.001), and isokinetic muscle strength (non-dominant leg extensor peak torque %BW at 60°/s: 13.20%,
< 0.05, dominant leg (DL) flexor peak torque at 60°/s: 3.87 Nm,
< 0.05, and DL flexor peak torque %BW at 60°/s: 7.60%,
< 0.05). However, the CON group showed negative changes in body composition (fat mass: 1.15 kg,
< 0.001, body fat percentage: 1.59%,
< 0.001, and fat-free mass: -0.58 kg,
< 0.05), BMD (whole-body: -0.01 g/cm
,
< 0.001 and forearm: -0.01 g/cm
,
< 0.05), functional fitness (lower body flexibility: -3.23 cm,
< 0.01, upper body strength: -2.06 n,
< 0.01, and agility and dynamic balance: 0.54 s,
< 0.01), and isokinetic muscle strength at 60°/s and 180°/s (all peak torque % body weight variables: -7.31--1.50,
< 0.05). Our findings show that the CON group negatively affects body composition, BMD, functional fitness, and isokinetic muscle strength in obese older women for 24 weeks.
Physical fitness is a key component of independent living and healthy ageing. For the measurement of physical fitness in older adults, the Senior Fitness Test is a commonly used tool. The objective ...of this study is to calculate sex- and age-specific normative values for handgrip strength and components of the Senior Fitness Test for older adults (65-75 years) in Germany.
Cross-sectional data of 1657 community-dwelling older adults residing in Bremen, Germany (53% female) were included in this study. Physical fitness was assessed using the following measurements of the Senior Fitness Test battery: 30s-chair stand test, 2 min-step test, sit-and-reach test, and back scratch test. In addition, handgrip strength was measured using a Saehan DHD-3 digital hand dynamometer SH1003. Sex- and age specific normative values were calculated for the 1st, 3rd, 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th, 97th, and 99th percentile using the GAMLSS method.
The normative values show differences dependent on sex and age. For handgrip strength, the 30s-chair stand test and the 2 min-step test, normative values were higher for men, while women reached higher values in the sit-and-reach test and the back scratch test. For both, men and women, normative values declined with age.
This study provides sex- and age-specific normative values for handgrip strength and components of the Senior Fitness Test for older adults in Germany. They might be useful for future research and for the application in practice.
The appropriate level of functional fitness is a very important element for seniors to maintain self-reliance in daily life. The aim of this research was to assess sociodemographic differences, ...selected elements of lifestyle, and functional fitness in the older residents of social welfare homes and community dwellers Methods: The analysed group comprised 693 women aged 65-79, including 173 subjects living in social welfare homes and 520 community-dwelling women. Basic anthropometric features were measured, and functional fitness was assessed using the Senior Fitness Test. Basic sociodemographic characteristics, as well as data on health self-assessment and selected elements of lifestyle, were also collected.
The female residents of social welfare homes were found to have a lower body mass index (BMI), and they came from smaller cities, compared with community-dwelling older women. Furthermore, almost a third of them had no children and completed primary or vocational education. They also reported smoking, poor health conditions, and lack of physical activity. The functional fitness of women living in social welfare homes was significantly lower than in community-dwelling women.
As seniors living in social welfare homes have such a significantly reduced level of functional fitness, compared with their peers living independently, it is necessary to include them in adaptive physical activity and diversified daily activities.
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