Teste de caminhada de seis minutos em diferentes faixas etárias e índices de massa corporal

Abstract

Introduction: Submaximal tests have been chosen to evaluate functional status because of their practicality and low cost. Objective: To correlate the distance walked during a six-minute test with age and body mass index, and to verify the need for applying a second test. Method: 122 healthy Brazilians aged between 18 and 80 years who had a sedentary lifestyle performed two tests that consisted of walking as far as possible over a six-minute period. Their weights and heights were assessed by calculating the body mass index. The data were expressed as means and standard deviations. The statistical analyses were performed using Student's t test, ANOVA and Pearson's correlation. Results: A strong correlation was found between the two distances walked when all the subjects were analyzed without age divisions. When the subjects were divided into three groups according to age, there were significant differences (p< 0.05) between the distances walked by the groups: Group 1 (20 to 40 years)= 645.19 m ± 80.78, Group 2 (40 to 60 years)= 540.68 m ± 59.74 and Group 3 (>60 years)= 457.39 m ± 64.1. The subjects with body mass index <25 walked longer distances (565.45 m ± 101.56) than either those with body mass index >25 and <35 (492.93 m ± 73.18) or those with body mass index >35 (457.35 m ± 92.18). Conclusion: The results found in this study confirm the reproducibility of the six-minute walk test and the sensitivity that this test has for evaluating the performance and functional capacity of individuals with different ages and body mass index.

Estudo longitudinal do equilíbrio postural e da capacidade aeróbica de idosos independentes

“…This result corroborate with studies conducted on the Brazilian and American population 22,24 . This result suggest that there is a decrease in physical capacity of the elderly over time.…”

Correlação entre os testes da caminhada, marcha estacionária e TUG em hipertensas idosas

“…Several recent studies [2][3][4] have focused on evaluating and regaining functional capacity or preventing its decline, particularly in older adults 5,6 . The significant increase in the prevalence of chronic degenerative diseases in older adults 7 , especially systemic hypertension or high blood pressure (HBP) which is closely associated with the decline in functional capacity 8,9 , has created the need to study evaluation methods for ADL performance.…”

Strength of the respiratory and lower limb muscles and functional capacity in chronic stroke survivors with different physical activity levels

“…The significant differences between the groups regarding the distance covered during the 6MWT suggested that active individuals had higher physical capacities, corroborating previous reported findings with the elderly 26 . From the functional point of view, the 6MWT is widely used for the evaluation of physical fitness and exercise capacity with various populations 43 and consists of a simple and practical test, that can be widely used within clinical contexts. Moderate correlations were observed between the distances covered during the 6MWT and the AAS, which demonstrated that they assessed similar aspects.…”