The relationship between physical fitness and quality of life in adults and the elderly

Abstract

Purpose. The aim of this study was to determine the relationships between physical fitness and various aspects of quality of life in middle-aged adults and the elderly. Methods. The sample included 216 women and 43 men, living in a medium-sized city in Poland aged 50-84 years. Physical fitness was determined using a test battery specifically designed for the elderly (Senior Fitness Test); grip strength by the dominate hand was also measured. The short form of the WHOQOL-brEF questionnaire was used to evaluate quality of life. Four domains (physical, psychological, social relationships, environment) of quality of life as well as overall quality of life and health were self-assessed. Results. Among the selected components of physical fitness measured in the study, the assessment of overall quality of life in women was related to upper limb strength and, depending on the quality of life domain, also with upper or lower body flexibility. In men, the only factor influencing their overall assessment was upper body flexibility, whereas cardiorespiratory efficiency was the only factor influencing their detailed self-assessment of the physical health domain. Additionally, the self-assessment of general health in men was significantly positively correlated with cardiopulmonary efficiency. In women, the general health assessment was correlated with upper limb strength and upper body flexibility. Conclusions. It was concluded that after the fifth decade of life, physical fitness plays a greater role in improving the self-assessment of quality of life in women than men. Physical activity undertaken by middle-aged and elderly adults should focus on first improving cardiorespiratory efficiency and then strength and flexibility.

Quality of Life and Its Correlates in Students of a University of the Third Age

“…The results obtained in our study can be compared against those reported in a study carried out by Sławińska et al [34] involving 216 women living in the city of Wrocław aged 50-84 years. Our subjects' perceived quality of life was predicted by the strength of the lower body, whereas that of the women from Wrocław was predicted by the muscular endurance of the upper extremity.…”

“…In the current study, none of the physical fitness tests predicted quality of life in the psychological health domain. In the Wrocław study [34], on the other hand, flexibility of the upper body was found to be a quality of life predictor. Neither study identified predictors of quality of life in the domain of social relationships which would be related to physical fitness.…”

Aging in A Changing World – the Impact of Social Contact and Physical Activity on Health-Related Quality among Older People from Austria – A Biological Perspective

“…Dramatic changes in family structure and also weakened relationships between older parents and their adult children affect health related quality of life in an adverse manner. This association was also found for the old Austrian people in the projects presented in this review [30,31,35,71]. Population change, the increasing weakness of social relationships, and increasing rates of voluntary or involuntary childlessness add burdens to families and welfare systems, the two major pillars of support in old age [76,77].…”

“…Consequently, the scientific analysis of factors influencing health related quality of life during old age is of special importance. Health related quality of life among older people is influenced by several endogenous and exogenous parameters [25,26,30,[65][66][67][68][69][70] such as psychosocial factors and also physical fitness [71]. Among the most important psychosocial factors influencing health related quality of life are social networks and especially intergenerational contact.…”

Estudio longitudinal de la flexibilidad funcional en mayores físicamente activos / Longitudinal study of Functional Flexibility in Olfer Physically Active

“…Asimismo, unos niveles adecuados de flexibilidad están asociados a la salud de la espalda (American College of Sports Medicine -ACSM, 2005; Da Silva Dias y Gómez-Conesa, 2008), a la disminución del dolor corporal (King et al, 2000;Ponce, Sempere y Cortés, 2014), al desempeño de tareas cotidianas (Brach y VanSwearingen, 2002), al patrón de la marcha (Cristopoliski, Sarraf, Dezan, Provensi y Rodacki, 2008;Schenatto, Milano, Berlezi y Bonamigo, 2009), a la prevención contra caídas (Guimarães y Farinatti, 2005), y por lo tanto, está estrechamente vinculada a la calidad de vida (Gonçalves, Vale, Barata, Varejão y Dantas, 2011;Sławińska, Posłuszny y Rożek, 2013).…”