Functional fitness norms and trends of community-dwelling older adults in urban China

Abstract

This study aimed to (1) establish age- and sex-specific functional fitness (FF) norms in Chinese older adults living in urban communities and (2) explore ageing-related degradations and sex differences in each FF dimension. A pool of 2398 individuals (1128 men; 1270 women) aged 60–98 years were recruited from urban communities of Nanjing, China. FF was measured using the Senior Fitness Test battery. FF norms were established for men and women in 5-year age intervals using five percentiles (10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th). Significant degradations in FF were correlated with increases in age. Around half of test items in 75–79 years group (3 for men; 4 for women) and over half in 80–84 years group (5 for men; 4 for women) exhibited significant decreases in FF compared with the adjacent younger group, indicating that ages of 75 and 80 years are two potential turning points in FF declines. Significant differences existed between the overall FF of men and women; women outperformed men in flexibility and men outperformed women in upper body strength, agility/dynamic balance, and aerobic endurance. Significant age and sex effects occurred in each fitness dimension, which helps individualised program design and promotes an active lifestyle in older adults.

Normative values and integrated score of functional fitness among Chinese community-dwelling older adults in Suzhou

“…However, the decline rates in the different dimensions varied. The results showed that the flexibility of the upper and lower body declined most rapidly in women (236.0% and 114.2%) and upper body flexibility in men (483.3%), which were consistent with previous results in Nanjing (Zhao et al, 2021), HK (Chung et al, 2016), Portugal (Marques et al, 2014), and Poland (Ignasiak et al, 2020). Contrary to the information provided in Table 5, the report on Poland erroneously stated the following: The largest deficits involved the dynamic balance, with the reduction rate reaching 69% in men and 62% in women.…”

“…Few studies had investigated the normative values of functional fitness levels in Chinese (Chen et al, 2009;Wang, 2015;Chung et al, 2016;Lin, 2020;Zhao et al, 2021). However, the SFT integrated score is missing in nearly all published studies (Chen et al, 2009;Wang, 2015;Chung et al, 2016;Zhao et al, 2021), and some of these reports used different parameters with the SFT (Chen et al, 2009;Wang, 2015;Lin, 2020). In the present study, normative values of functional fitness Frontiers in Physiology frontiersin.org were established according to sex and age by using the data of SFT in 1,122 older adults in Suzhou, China.…”

The Interlink among Age, Functional Fitness, and Perception of Health and Quality of Life: A Mediation Analysis

“…Significant gender-related differences emerged only for flexibility and endurance. Fitness levels and coordination in the present study were in line with the literature for older individuals [ 36 , 43 , 44 ], whilst PCS and MCS achieved better results with respect to those reported in previous studies for older Italians [ 45 ]. The current study reinforces the added value of engaging in chronic sports training characterized by both aerobic-anaerobic and coordinative demands [ 46 , 47 , 48 ].…”

Exercise Aging and Health: A Proposal Course for Healthcare Professionals and Physical Activity Instructors

“…In this sense, a reduction in functional fitness levels is generally associated with a decline in general functional capacity and basic activities of daily living such as climbing stairs, walking, carrying groceries, and many other common tasks [3,23]. Normative functional fitness scores have been published for older adults in different countries: United States of America [24]; Portugal [25]; Brazil [26]; Poland [27]; and China [28]. Results revealed a pattern of decline across most age groups on all variables.…”

“…The pattern of decrease over age was similar in men and women. However, men scored better on muscular strength, aerobic endurance, and agility/balance, and women scored better on flexibility [24][25][26][27][28]).…”