Habitual Walking and Its Correlation to Better Physical Function: Implications for Prevention of Physical Disability in Older Persons

Wong, Chek Hooi; Wong, Sweet Fun; Pang, Weng Sun; Azizah, M. Yusoff; Dass, Marguerita J.

doi:10.1093/gerona/58.6.m555

Cited by 92 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…When the handgrip strength of participants was examined, it was seen that there was not any difference between the two groups of this study. This has also been reported in previous study by Wong et al [13]. The authors examined the effects of physical activity level on physical performance and physical fitness of 123 participants who were 50 years and older.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 78%

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The impact of unsupervised regular walking on health: a sample of Turkish middle-aged and older adults

Atalay

Cavlak

2011

Eur Rev Aging Phys Act

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Regular walking is one of the most recommended and popular physical activity worldwide. This study (1) detected the effects of unsupervised regular walking on physical and cognitive functioning, emotional status, and quality of life in middle-aged and older adults and (2) compared the results with inactive controls. Forty middleaged and older adults with a mean age of 56.30±4.85 years (range 40-70) walking for at least 1 year, at least three times a week, and at least 45 min a day and 40 inactive participants with a mean age of 55.15±5.64 years (range 40-70) participated. Before testing, sociodemographics of the participants were recorded. Body mass index and waist-hip ratio were calculated. The two groups were evaluated and compared in terms of physical functioning (handgrip strength, balance performance, cardio-vascular endurance, flexibility, muscular endurance and coordination), cognitive functioning (Mini Mental Test), emotional status (Beck Depression Inventory), and health related quality of life (CDC HRQOL-4). The results obtained from this study showed that there were significant differences in terms of all outcome measurements between the groups (p<0.05). The regular walking group had better scores in most parameters than the inactive controls. The results indicate that unsupervised regular walking improves health and is also a safe, cheap, and can easily be adapted into daily life. Therefore, it can be recommended to improve physical and cognitive functioning, emotional status, and quality of life of middle-aged and older adults.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 78%

“…Handgrip test Upper extremity strength was assessed with handgrip strength test using a hydraulic dynamometer [11][12][13]. In this test, the participant was in sitting position on an unsupported chair with arms flexed next to trunk.…”

Section: Physical Functioningmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of unsupervised regular walking on health: a sample of Turkish middle-aged and older adults

Atalay

Cavlak

2011

Eur Rev Aging Phys Act

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“…In this study, physical activity is defined mainly as habitual everyday activity, in distinction to exercise which is defined as "planned, structured, repetitive movement done specifically in order to maintain or improve physical fitness" (Wong et al 2003). The main focus is on outdoor physical activity.…”

Section: Physical Activity In Old Agementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Physical activity can reduce the risk for disability (Guralnik et al 1995, Keysor & Jette 2001, Landi et al 2007, Liu & Latham 2009, Pahor et al 2014 and is beneficial for health and functioning among older people (Satariano & McAuley 2003. Habitual physical activity, such as walking is beneficial for cardiorespiratory fitness (Wong et al 2003) and even light activity, such as going out of the house daily, has been associated with better functioning and selfrated health (Jacobs et al 2008). In older people with functional limitations, even small amounts of physical activity, such as short walks have been shown to be beneficial in order to maintain walking ability and functional capacity .…”

Section: Physical Activity In Old Agementioning

confidence: 99%

Barriers to outdoor physical activity and unmet physical activity need in older adults

Eronen

Bonsdorff

Törmäkangas

et al. 2014

Preventive Medicine

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Physical activity is a basic need, also in old age. However, many older people cannot fulfil this need, often due to walking limitations causing imbalance in person-environment fit. Decreased physical activity can lead to unmet physical activity need and restriction on life-space mobility. The opportunities to remain physically active depend on various factors, not all of which are equally achievable for all older adults. The aim was to investigate disparities in physical activity among older community-dwelling people, with a focus on functioning, environmental barriers and facilitators, and socioeconomic status (SES).The data were drawn from two studies conducted in Central Finland: Screening and Counseling for Physical Activity and Mobility (632 participants, 75% women, mean age 77.6) and Life-Space Mobility in Old Age (848 participants, 62% women, mean age 80.1). Walking limitations, SES, social support, environmental facilitators for outdoor walking and barriers to outdoor physical activity were self-reported. The outcome measures were unmet physical activity need, walking limitation and life-space mobility.Five outdoor physical activity barrier profiles were identified, in which people differed in health and functioning and vulnerability to the challenges of the environment. A higher number of environmental facilitators decreased the risk for walking limitation. The risk for unmet physical activity need increased along with the number of individual and environmental outdoor physical activity barriers, but was highest among people whose poor health and functioning hindered them from going outdoors. Low SES was associated with more restricted life-space mobility and unmet physical activity need, especially among persons with walking limitations.Disparities in physical activity can be traced back to various individual, social and environmental factors. The importance of the environment for physical activity is considerable especially among older people with walking limitations. Keywords ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThis study was carried out at the Gerontology Research Center, Department of Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Finland. My deepest gratitude goes to the supervisors of this thesis, Professor Taina Rantanen and Mikaela von Bonsdorff, PhD. Taina, I can't stop wondering how you always have solutions to the most complex problems and answers to even the trickiest questions. I highly value your knowledge and experience in the field of gerontology and feel proud that I have been able to conduct my PhD thesis under your supervision. Mikaela, thank you for always having time for me and my questions, especially during the first year of my PhD studies. I admire your enthusiasm towards research and appreciate the guidance and advice that you have given me. I feel that we have become friends during these years. I sincerely thank Professor Teppo Kröger for his interest and supportive comments on this work. I also want to thank Research Director Katja Kokko at the Gerontology Research Center, and Director of t...

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“…1 In fact, the most common type of moderate physical activity chosen by older adults is walking, 2 which provides health benefits that contribute to the maintenance of functional ability. [3][4][5][6][7][8] In a pivotal article entitled "Just Get out the Door! ", Simonsick and colleagues 9 found that walking outdoors, even just two blocks per day on average, prevents physical decline in functionally limited older women.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimizing Mobility in Later Life: The Role of the Urban Built Environment for Older Adults Aging in Place

Clarke

Gallagher

2013

J Urban Health

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Hazards in the urban built environment can create barriers to mobility among older adults aging in place. We investigated the relationship between urban built environment characteristics and 15-month trajectories of mobility disability in a sample of 1,188 older adults living in Detroit, MI, a city that has undergone rapid economic and structural decline. Data come from the Michigan Minimum Data Set for Home Care (2001Care ( -2008, an enumerative database of older adults in Michigan who qualify for federal or state-funded home and community-based long-term care through a Medicaid waiver program. Standardized assessments are made at intake and every 90 days by case managers. Built environments were assessed with a virtual audit using the "Street View" feature of Google Earth. A summary accessibility score was created for each block based on a count of the number of accessible features (e.g., continuous barrier-free sidewalks and proximity of public transportation). Using growth mixture models, two latent trajectories of outdoor mobility were identified: one capturing occasional outdoor mobility (representing 83 % of the sample) and one capturing almost no mobility outside the home. Controlling for sociodemographic and health risk factors, individuals living in more accessible environments had a 18 % higher odds of being in the more mobile group (OR01.18, 95 % CI01.01, 1.41). These findings emphasize the importance of the built environment for mobility among urban-dwelling older adults.

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Habitual Walking and Its Correlation to Better Physical Function: Implications for Prevention of Physical Disability in Older Persons

Cited by 92 publications

References 17 publications

The impact of unsupervised regular walking on health: a sample of Turkish middle-aged and older adults

The impact of unsupervised regular walking on health: a sample of Turkish middle-aged and older adults

Barriers to outdoor physical activity and unmet physical activity need in older adults

Optimizing Mobility in Later Life: The Role of the Urban Built Environment for Older Adults Aging in Place

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