BackgroundAging-related loss of muscle and strength with increased adiposity is prevalent among older people in long-term care (LTC) facilities. Studies have shown that people with sarcopenic obesity (SO) are at high risk of declining physical performance. At present, no interventional studies on residents with SO in nursing homes have been conducted in the literature. The objectives of this study include appraising the changes in body composition and physical performance following resistance training among residents with SO in LTC facilities.MethodsThis study used a quasiexperimental research design. Residents who are 60 years of age or above and have been living a sedentary lifestyle in LTC facilities for the past 3 months will be eligible for inclusion. The intervention group engaged in chair muscle strength training twice a week for 12 weeks, whereas the control group underwent the usual care. The main variables were physical parameters of being lean and fat, the strength of grip and pinch, and a functional independence measure using descriptive analysis, chi-squared test, t-test, and generalized estimating equation for statistical analysis through SPSS.ResultsA total of 64 respondents with SO completed the study. After training, total grip strength (p = 0.001) and total pinch strength (p = 0.014) of the intervention group differed significantly from those of the control group. The right grip strength of the intervention group increased by 1.71 kg (p = 0.003) and the left grip strength improved by 1.35 kg (p = 0.028) compared with baseline values. The self-care scores of the intervention group increased by 2.76 points over baseline scores, particularly for the action of dressing oneself. Although grip strength and self-care scores improved more among those in the intervention group, body fat and skeletal muscle percentages did not differ significantly between the groups after training (p > 0.05).ConclusionsResistance exercises for elderly residents in LTC facilities may play an important role in helping them maintain physical well-being and improve muscle strength.Trial registrationClinicaltrials.gov, number NCT02912338. Retrospectively registered on 09/21/2016.

The findings offer reference values for physical performance tests specific to community-dwelling frail elderly people. The information can enable health practitioners to achieve early identification of frailty among elderly people with anthropometric characteristics similar to those associated with people in Asian countries.

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Aims and objectives To measure the effect of chair resistance training (RT) on the quality of life (QoL) of older long‐term care residents with sarcopenic obesity (SO). Background Sarcopenia combined with obesity, commonly called SO, is considered to be related to health‐related QoL. Despite concerns regarding SO‐related long‐term healthcare issues, intervention studies on SO residents in nursing homes are scant in Taiwan. Design This research was a quasi‐experiment conducted according to the TREND Checklist. A total of 123 older persons were enrolled from six nursing facilities. The RT was implemented between October 2015–March 2016. Method The intervention group received progressive RT with sandbags/dumbbells twice a week for 3 months, whereas the comparison group received the usual care. QoL was the major outcome variable. Data were analysed using chi‐square test, Student's t test and generalised estimating equation (GEE). Results The various definition criteria for SO can influence the results of QoL in the older persons. From the body composition perspective, in the GEE analysis, the SO cut‐off points for neither skeletal muscle mass percentage (SMMp) nor appendicular skeletal muscle mass index demonstrated significant between‐group differences in the QoL variable after the 3‐month RT intervention. Between‐group analysis revealed a significant effect of time on anxiety/depression [Exp(B): 0.41, 95% confidence interval: 0.18–0.93, p‐value < .05] in participants who met all three criteria of the definition of SO (low SMMp, low handgrip strength, and obesity). RT was one of the protective factors. Conclusion In the SO group, the effect of muscle strength on QoL is greater than the effect of changes in body composition after RT. Relevance to clinical practice This study analysed the influence of RT on QoL in subjects with different categories of SO. RT is one of the ways to promote QoL among the SO population. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02912338.

Objectives: The myopic population is continually increasing worldwide. The purpose of this paper was to examine the risk factors for myopic occurrence. Moreover, from a public health perspective, this paper also proposed a framework and description of measures for the prevention of myopia.Methods: This article is a literature review that analyses vital factors affecting the development of myopia. It was conducted using "MEDLINE, CINAHL Plus with Full Text, academic search complete" on the EBSCO database for the period of 1990 to June 2014. Subsequently, we used Pub Med and Google Scholar to search for literature in relation to vision and lifestyle patterns and continued with the work of consolidating the gathered literature. Results: In this study, vital factors, including viewing distance, varying influences unique to an individual, family, education, and the social scene of the nation, were found to affect the occurrence of myopia. Other than proposing a framework of multiple factors that influence vision-related lifestyle, this study adopts a preventive and public health point of view to investigate methods currently being used to assess children's visual health and vision-related lifestyle in order to organize and summarize scenarios related to visual tasks, and to assess visual aid resources in children.

Myopia prevention is difficult, as the number of people with myopia in East Asian countries continues to increase, while the average age of onset decreases. Objectives: to investigate the reasons for the difficulties in the prevention of school children's myopia, and to analyze the role of school health nurses in the work of myopia prevention. Method: The study is a qualitative research. Data gathering by triangulation was employed to conduct in-depth interviews on planners, executors, and subjects of the myopia-related work. The research site is one of Taiwan's cities with a high prevalence of myopia; data were gathered during the period of 2012-2013. Results: Analysis revealed that the causes of difficulty in myopia prevention in Taiwan include five aspects: features of the eyes, parents and other caregivers, children, education, and society. The roles of myopia prevention that school health workers play include screening service provider, activity organizer and sponsor, interdisciplinary collaborator, team worker, coordinator, statistician and case manager.