Selected Elements of Lifestyle and the Level of Functional Fitness in Older Women

Abstract

Background: The appropriate level of functional fitness is a very important element for seniors to maintain self-reliance in daily life. The aim of this research was to assess sociodemographic differences, selected elements of lifestyle, and functional fitness in the older residents of social welfare homes and community dwellers Methods: The analysed group comprised 693 women aged 65–79, including 173 subjects living in social welfare homes and 520 community-dwelling women. Basic anthropometric features were measured, and functional fitness was assessed using the Senior Fitness Test. Basic sociodemographic characteristics, as well as data on health self-assessment and selected elements of lifestyle, were also collected. Results: The female residents of social welfare homes were found to have a lower body mass index (BMI), and they came from smaller cities, compared with community-dwelling older women. Furthermore, almost a third of them had no children and completed primary or vocational education. They also reported smoking, poor health conditions, and lack of physical activity. The functional fitness of women living in social welfare homes was significantly lower than in community-dwelling women. Conclusions: As seniors living in social welfare homes have such a significantly reduced level of functional fitness, compared with their peers living independently, it is necessary to include them in adaptive physical activity and diversified daily activities.

The level of actual functional fitness of men from different living environments in Poland and associations with health - a cross-sectional study

“…Scores on all attempts of the test were found to be significantly lower in the group of female SWH residents compared to seniors living in the community. The weakest attempts in the SWH group were 8-foot up and go and 30-second chair, in which, respectively, 87.3% and 74.6% of the seniors tested did not reach the norms developed for the Polish population [ 40 ]. In another Polish study of the functional fitness of older women from SWH, the weakest tests were 8-foot up and go and 6-minute walk, in which only a few percent of the seniors tested met Polish norms [ 48 ].…”

“…Therefore, in order for seniors in institutions to have a good quality of life and a long life, continuous monitoring of their physical condition and health status is essential. There is a lot of current research on the functional fitness and health status of older people living in the community [ 22 , 24 , 32 – 35 ] but much less research on institutionalized older people [ 36 – 39 ] and especially in Poland [ 16 , 40 , 41 ]. Furthermore, the associations of physical fitness with physical activity and health status among seniors living in social welfare homes and in the community have been poorly studied.…”

Predictors of the Level of Physical Activity in Physically Active Older People

“…Other studies have shown similar results [ 27 ]. Therefore, an appropriate level of physical fitness is an important element for older people to maintain their autonomy [ 28 ]. However, these studies did not examine this topic considering the levels of physical activity practiced in the same way as the present study has done.…”