‘Exercise is medicine’: Understanding the exercise beliefs and practices of older Chinese women immigrants in British Columbia, Canada

Cultural influences on exercise participation and fall prevention: a systematic review and narrative synthesis

“…Evident in many studies were negative attitudes or stigma towards ageing and the ageing body, such as a fear of dependency, where the effects on exercise participation were detrimental rather than beneficial. In many studies, the value of exercising in older age was questioned with participation considered by some as inappropriate, incompatible or useless [23][24][25][26][27]. Many Latino older people, for example, perceived exercise not ''fitting'' for older people and expressed ''shame'', ''acting foolish'' or ''a waste of time'' of doing exercise in old age [27].…”

“…In many studies, there was a widespread belief that exercise had beneficial effects related to physical health, well-being and independence in old age, which translated to participation in exercise [24,[26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34]. In some, however, traditional health beliefs impeded the perceived need for exercise among older people.…”

“…In some, however, traditional health beliefs impeded the perceived need for exercise among older people. For example, many Chinese older immigrants believed that proper care of the body and mind or ying and yang was possible through the use of (traditional Chinese) medicine and dietary practices more than through exercise [18,24,26]. High levels of fatalism were also commonly reported among Chinese older immigrants.…”

“…For some, health problems and chronic conditions served as a key motivator for the initiation or continuation of exercise [23][24][25][26]28,32,33]. Conversely, not being sick or having no health problems was an indication of no need for exercise [25,26].…”

Who theorizes age? The “socio-demographic variables” device and age–period–cohort analysis in the rhetoric of survey research

“…We can find a similar approach in Kerr et al (1998), where authors understand lay people's knowledge of scientific constructs, including a group of elderly respondents, in relation with their experiences and concerns shaped through specific biographies. Jette & Vertinsky (2011) highlight the pragmatism of elderly women in combining Western medicine with traditional Chinese medicine, and they investigate the life worlds from which such combinations appear. As a closing example, Arber et al (2008) discuss elderly women and men's knowledge of health issues and medical technologies in two overlapping contexts: present-day considerations of decisions about prolonging life, and life-course experiences of caring for others.…”