Functional Capacity and Levels of Physical Activity in Aging: A 3-Year Follow-up

Abstract

Over the last decades, the world elderly population has increased exponentially and this tendency will continue during the coming years; from 2000 to 2050, people over 60 will double and those over 80 will quadruple. Loss of independence occurs as people age due to mobility restrictions, frailty, and decreased functional fitness and cognitive abilities. Evidence has shown that appropriate programs and policies contribute to keep older adults healthy and independent over time. The purpose of this chapter is to report the results of our 3-year follow-up study designed to characterize functional physical fitness in a sample of Portuguese community-dwelling older adults to propose a set of functional parameters that decline the most. We studied a group of 43 elderly people, aged 60 and over. Variables assessed on the participants were anthropometric measurements, functional capacity with the Senior Fitness Test battery (muscle strength, aerobic endurance, flexibility, agility, and dynamic balance), handgrip strength, levels of physical activity, and balance. Three years after the first assessment, a second assessment of the same variables was conducted. We analyzed what were the variables that, for this group, were related with a healthier aging and the relation with different physical activity levels. Our study showed that the distance covered in 6-min walk test and handgrip strength seem to explain a great amount of variability on functional variables that have changed on this period (68% of balance, lower and upper functional strength, respectively) and the active participants showed less decrements with aging in anthropometric and functional variables than those inactive or insufficiently active (p < 0.05). Greater importance should be given to prescription of exercise targeting older adults and, specifically, walking and manual activities should be given more attention as components of a community exercise program.

Satisfaction with Life, Subjective Well-Being and Functional Skills in Active Older Adults Based on Their Level of Physical Activity Practice

“…Secondly, in this study, functional ability was determined to be greater in those people who engaged in high physical activity compared to those who participated in moderate activity. These results are in line with the existing literature showing an improvement in physical health regarding functional skills in those older adults who practiced high physical activity [8][9][10][11]. On the other hand, some studies [29] have also indicated that there is a relationship between low autonomy and poor physical activity; however, some of these studies have not gone far enough into the amount and type of physical practice required for such a result.…”

“…In this regard, physical activity is one of the most important resources to improving health and quality of life in older adults, which has been revealed by different studies [6][7][8]. In addition to this, many authors have shown that physical activity improves the functional abilities of older adults [9][10][11] as well as their quality of life [12]. In a combined intervention study of physical activity and cognitive stimulation carried out in a sample of 50 older adults where 44 were women [13], an improvement in the functional abilities and activities of daily living were observed.…”

Effects of mutual learning in physical education to improve health indicators of Ukrainian students

“…An assessment of the functional state of body and its reserve capacities is important for determining the effectiveness of physical education classes [16,17]. Good functional state can be considered as a prerequisite for high physical working efficiency and potential ability of the body to adapt to physical activity [10,18].…”

Coronavirus Pandemic (SARS-COV-2): Pre-Exercise Screening Questionnaire (PESQ) for Telepresential Exercise

“…Finally, particularities, such as the level of functional capacity, must be followed according to the ACSM recommendations (20), particularly for elderly people (21). The need to perform physical activity is as evident as the need to guarantee the necessary security of its practitioners.…”