Musculoskeletal fitness, as assessed by SRT, was a significant predictor of mortality in 51-80-year-old subjects. Application of a simple and safe assessment tool such as SRT, which is influenced by muscular strength and flexibility, in general health examinations could add relevant information regarding functional capabilities and outcomes in non-hospitalized adults.

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Although aging is commonly linked to a reduction in joint range of motion, it is unclear if all body joints behave similarly. To address this issue, the main purpose of this study was to compare age-related loss of mobility of seven body joints. A total of 6,000 participants (3,835 men and 2,165 women) aged 5 to 92 years took part in this study. The maximal passive range of motion of 20 movements was evaluated by Flexitest, and each movement was scored from 0 to 4. Composite scores were obtained for each of seven joints and for overall flexibility (Flexindex (FLX)) by adding individual movement scores. Confirming previous findings, FLX systematically decreased with aging (p<.001), with female participants being more flexible for all ages (p<0.001) and having a more gradual, 0.6 % vs. 0.8 %/year, age reduction (p<.001). Starting at 30 and 40 years, respectively, for male and female participants, the relative contribution of each composite joint score to FLX dramatically changed. Shoulder contribution to FLX male's score went from 13.9 % at 28 years of age to only 5.2 % at 85 years of age. In general, proportionally, shoulder and trunk became less flexible, while elbow and knee mobility was preserved to a greater extent. Our findings indicated that age-related loss of mobility is rather joint-specific, which could be related to distinct routine usage patterns of the major body joints along life.

Although seemingly simple tasks, the actions of sitting and rising from the floor are also partially dependent on flexibility in male and female subjects of a wide age range. Future studies should explore the potential benefit of regular flexibility exercises for these actions.

Objective -To evaluate the level of satisfaction with body weight and the self-perception of the weight/height ratio and to verify the influence of the frequency of present and past physical activity on these variables. MethodsThe terms physical activity and physical exercise have been mistakenly classified as synonyms, especially by the nonmedical population. Recently 1, when reviewing this issue, we adopted the description proposed by Caspersen et al. 2 and Shephard and Balady 3, who use the term physical activity to refer to any movement with energy consumption, above rest levels. Whereas, physical exercise has the connotation of intention and represents a subgroup within the broader concept of physical activity.Regular exercise is associated with countless benefits for health and quality of life 4. Physically active individuals tend to have a lower incidence of coronary disease 5, stroke 6, hypertension 7, non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus 8, obesity 9 , and some forms of cancer10. On the other hand, overweight or increase in body fat is followed by a greater morbidity and mortality 11,12. In recent years, the prevalence of overweight and obesity has increased, especially in the United States, where the proportion of obese adults has increased almost twofold, increasing from 12% to practically 22.5% 13. In Brazil, recent data 14 already show signs that indicate a growing prevalence of overweight and obesity, of 31% and 7%, respectively, in men, and of 26% and 12% in women, representing a considerable increase regarding since the 1980s, when only 4.5% of men were obese. Therefore, this is not a problem exclusively of developed countries. Because the levels of the frequency of physical activity remain extremely low 15, it is necessary to search for a healthy lifestyle by combating sedentarism and of overweight.There is no doubt that adult women tend to consider themselves overweight when, in fact, their weight is compatible with their height. Young men, however, desire to weigh more and to have more developed muscles 16. It is possible that the level of dissatisfaction with weight influences the way young adults see themselves in terms of the weight/ height relation. It is important to study how these variables correlate and are influenced by the amount of regular physical activity in the present and in the past, because we can suppose that physically active individuals have greater control over and knowledge of their own body.

FUNDAMENTOS E OBJETIVO: A flexibilidade, definida como a mobilidade passiva máxima de um dado movimento articular, é uma das variáveis da aptidão física relacionadas à saúde e representa um fator fundamental para o desempenho do corpo e do movimento, seja em modalidades desportivas ou cênicas, em que a graciosidade e a beleza dos movimentos seja relevante. Dentre os vários métodos de medida e avaliação da flexibilidade, um dos mais utilizados é o Flexiteste, incluindo 20 movimentos articulares graduados de 0 a 4 pontos. Contudo, alguns profissionais têm utilizado versões condensadas de apenas quatro ou seis movimentos empiricamente escolhidos. O objetivo deste estudo é avaliar a validade científica e prática do uso de versões condensadas em substituição à versão completa do Flexiteste. MÉTODOS: Foram utilizados dados do Flexiteste de 3.116 indivíduos, 1.847 homens e 1.269 mulheres, entre cinco e 88 anos de idade. A partir de análises de regressão progressivas passo a passo, foram escolhidos os quatro e seis movimentos que melhor estimavam o Flexíndice (soma dos escores dos 20 movimentos), separadamente, para crianças e adolescentes, adultos jovens, adultos e adultos idosos dos dois gêneros. RESULTADOS: Apesar dos altos coeficientes de determinação obtidos nas regressões, ligeiramente melhores para seis movimentos, os erros-padrão das estimativas situaram-se entre 2,7 e 3,8 pontos (3,8 e 3,9, respectivamente, para homens e mulheres, sem divisão por grupo etário), excedendo o que se deve esperar como erro de medida e sendo semelhante ao que se observa como resultado de um programa de treinamento específico. CONCLUSÃO: Exceto em circunstâncias muito específicas e raras, não é apropriado o uso de versões condensadas de quatro ou seis movimentos do Flexiteste, mesmo que específicos por faixa etária e gênero.

Bodily self-perception of health-related physical fitness variablesBackground: Physical fitness has two dimensions, one related to health and the other, to performance. However, it is still unknown if non-athlete adults present an appropriate level of self-perception (SP) about their health-related physical fitness. Objectives: a) to assess the SP of non-athlete subjects in some morphofunctional variables related to physical fitness; b) to check if the degree of SP correctness is related to those variables; and c) to check if those with higher SP levels are more physically fit. Methods: SP data from 63 adults (51 men), ages ranging from 22 to 85, were measured and assessed regarding the following variables: maximum VO 2 , flexibility, handgrip, absolute and relative maximal muscular power, largest fat deposition site and reference body weight, ability to sit and stand up from the floor and weight/height ratio, and height and body weight. The influence of variable magnitude on the SP score (sum total of correct answers in the 12 variables assessed) was tested by comparison between the first and fifth quintiles and by correlation. Results: On the average, subjects more often provided wrong answers for the

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