Browse

You are looking at 51 - 60 of 92 items for :

  • Journal of Aging and Physical Activity x
  • Sport and Exercise Science/Kinesiology x
  • Psychology and Behavior in Sport/Exercise x
  • Refine by Access: Content accessible to me x
Clear All
Open access

Association of Perceived Environment and Physical Activity in Older Adults After the Great East Japan Earthquake

Nobuaki Moriyama, Hajime Iwasa, and Seiji Yasumura

The aim of this study was to examine the association between perceived environment and physical activity among older adults in Fukushima Prefecture after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and the impact of evacuation. Questionnaires were distributed to individuals aged 65 years and older from October to November 2018. Perceived environment was assessed using a five-item questionnaire on home fitness equipment, access to facilities, neighborhood safety, enjoyable scenery, and frequency of observing others exercising. Physical activity, assessed via the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Elderly Japanese, was segregated into levels based on the median score. Data from 249 participants (74.2 ± 6.9 years) were analyzed. A logistic regression analysis found that the unenjoyable Scenery × Residing in restoration public housing interaction (odds ratio = 3.87, 95% confidence interval = [1.20, 12.46]) was significant. The association between enjoyable scenery and physical activity varied according to whether the participants had experienced evacuation or not.

Open access

A Qualitative Exploration of Perceptions of a Digital Intervention to Promote Physical Activity in Older Adults

Sebastien Pollet, James Denison-Day, Katherine Bradbury, Rosie Essery, Elisabeth Grey, Max Western, Fiona Mowbray, Kirsten A. Smith, Joanna Slodkowska-Barabasz, Nanette Mutrie, Paul Little, and Lucy Yardley

Purpose: This study explored participant views of a web-based physical activity intervention for older adults and examined how they resonate with the key principles that guided intervention development. Methods: Qualitative interviews were carried out with 52 older adults. A deductive qualitative analysis approach was taken, based around the intervention’s key principles. Results: Participants expressed mostly positive views of the intervention features, broadly confirming the appropriateness of the key principles, which were to: (a) encourage intrinsic motivation for physical activity, (b) minimize the risk of users receiving activity suggestions that are inappropriate or unsafe, (c) offer users choice regarding the activities they engage with and build confidence to undertake more activity, and (d) minimize the cognitive load and need to engage with the intervention website. The findings also identified ways in which content could be improved to further increase acceptability. Conclusion: This study illustrates how using the person-based approach has enabled the identification and implementation of features that older adults appreciate.

Open access

“Someone’s Got My Back”: Older People’s Experience of the Coaching for Healthy Ageing Program for Promoting Physical Activity and Preventing Falls

Abby Haynes, Catherine Sherrington, Geraldine Wallbank, David Lester, Allison Tong, Dafna Merom, Chris Rissel, and Anne Tiedemann

The Coaching for Healthy Ageing trial evaluated the impact on physical activity (PA) and falls based on a year-long intervention in which participants aged 60+ receive a home visit, regular health coaching by physiotherapists, and a free activity monitor. This interview study describes the participants’ experiences of the intervention and ideas for improvement. The authors sampled purposively for maximum variation in experiences. The data were analyzed thematically by two researchers. Most of the 32 participants reported that the intervention increased PA levels, embedded activities, and generated positivity about PA. They were motivated by quantified PA feedback, self-directed goals, and person-centered coaching. Social connectivity motivated some, but the intervention did not support this well. The intervention structure allowed participants to trial and embed activities. Autonomy and relatedness were emphasized and should be included in future program theory. The authors identified synergistic effects, likely “essential ingredients,” and potential areas for improving this and similar interventions.

Open access

Tai Chi for the Prevention of Falls Among Older Adults: A Critical Analysis of the Evidence

Samuel R. Nyman

Despite interest as to the benefits of Tai Chi, there remains a controversy over its effectiveness as an exercise intervention for preventing falls among older adults. This review synthesizes the evidence base with a focus on meta-analyses and randomized controlled trials with community-dwelling older adults. It provides a critical lens on the evidence and quality of the trials. High-quality evidence suggests that Tai Chi is an effective intervention for preventing falls in community settings; however, there is unclear evidence for long-term care facilities and an absence of evidence for hospital settings. When compared directly with other exercise interventions, Tai Chi may offer a superior strategy for reducing falls through its benefits on cognitive functioning. Using data from the current Cochrane review, a new synthesis is presented suggesting that 71–81% of community-dwelling older adults are adherent to class-based Tai Chi interventions. The practical opportunities and challenges for practitioners are discussed.

Full access

Bicycling Exercise Helps Maintain a Youthful Metabolic Cost of Walking in Older Adults

Daniel H. Aslan, Joshua M. Collette, and Justus D. Ortega

The decline of walking performance is a key determinant of morbidity among older adults. Healthy older adults have been shown to have a 15–20% lower walking economy compared with young adults. However, older adults who run for exercise have a higher walking economy compared with older adults who walk for exercise. Yet, it remains unclear if other aerobic exercises yield similar improvements on walking economy. The purpose of this study was to determine if regular bicycling exercise affects walking economy in older adults. We measured metabolic rate while 33 older adult “bicyclists” or “walkers” and 16 young adults walked on a level treadmill at four speeds between (0.75–1.75 m/s). Across the range of speeds, older bicyclists had a 9–17% greater walking economy compared with older walkers (p = .009). In conclusion, bicycling exercise mitigates the age-related deterioration of walking economy, whereas walking for exercise has a minimal effect on improving walking economy.

Open access

Exploring Active Travel and Leisure-Time Physical Activity Relationships With Cognition Among Older Adults

Madhura Phansikar and Sean P. Mullen

Leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) is known to benefit cognition among older adults, but the impact of active travel is unclear. To explore this relationship, data from the 2011–2014 National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (N = 2,702; mean age = 70) were retrieved on the self-reported frequency and duration of active travel (walking/cycling for transport, >20 min), LTPA engagement (e.g., sport), and three cognitive outcomes. Four groups were created according to physical activity guidelines (600 metabolic equivalent of task/week): inactive (n = 1,790), active travelers (n = 210), engaging in LTPA (n = 579), and engaging in both (n = 123). Analysis of covariance (and follow-up comparisons) revealed a significant main effect for each cognition variable, after adjusting for the covariates, indicating that those engaging in LTPA performed the best. Although correlational, these findings suggest that LTPA engagement may be important for cognition among older adults, but active travel did not provide added benefit.

Full access

Erratum: Lord (2016)

In the JAPA supplement (JAPA 24[Suppl.], June 2016), which contained the abstracts for the 9th World Congress on Active Ageing, an incorrect abstract appears on page S102. This abstract, “An Australian Unique Way of Addressing the Research—Selling Health and Wellness to the Over 60s with Active Life Weekends”, by B. Lord, was a duplicate of an earlier printed abstract. The correct abstract appears below. We apologize for this error. The online version has been corrected. Lifeball: A Ball Game for the Active Aged Lord, Brian L. Healthy Lifestyle Health Promotion Services; rayna@albury.net.au Introduction: Physical activity has been identified as being critical in maintaining wellbeing into our later years. Physical activity within a social context—with other people, in a group—has been shown to have benefits over and above that gained by activity partaken alone. Participation in team games can improve every aspect of physical fitness, and hence the quality of life for our older adults. Methods: Lifeball is a game based on netball and basketball, but its designer, Colleen Wilson-Lord OAM, has eliminated all their unsafe aspects. Lifeball is now played by over 2,000 people in over 70 centres throughout Australia. With no running, no body contact, no high passes, no bounce passes, and no walking backwards, it is a very safe game, yet it incorporates a great deal of tactical enterprise and is a most inclusive game. Everyone on the team must handle the ball, and certain skills must be performed before a goal can be attempted. Even the goal is novel—it is only eye-height, but is set back from the court by a couple of metres. Six players constitute a team and the playing court is divided into three zones with two players from each team in each zone. One player from each team has a “roving commission”, allowed in two zones (the defensive and centre zone). Another unique rule is that players must change positions at the end of each playing period; this ensures everyone plays in every position during the game. Results: Recent research in Western Australia showed that when people take up Lifeball, there is a positive shift in variables associated with social isolation and loneliness. Other research in New South Wales by the Department of Health showed similar outcomes in socialisation and health—both physical and mental. Conclusion: Despite Lifeball’s simplicity, players feel that it is a “main stream” sport. It looks and feels like a regular sport and so players regard themselves as being part of the recognised fabric of society. Lifeball is the game you play for Life. http://dx.doi.org/10.1123/japa.2016-0210

Full access

Characterization of Vertical Accelerations Experienced by Older People Attending an Aerobics Class Designed to Produce High Impacts

Kimberly Hannam, Kevin Deere, Sue Worrall, April Hartley, and Jon H. Tobias

The purpose of this study was to establish the feasibility of using an aerobics class to produce potentially bone protective vertical impacts of ≥ 4g in older adults and to determine whether impacts can be predicted by physical function. Participants recruited from older adult exercise classes completed an SF-12 questionnaire, short physical performance battery, and an aerobics class with seven different components, performed at low and high intensity. Maximum g and jerk values were identified for each activity. Forty-one participants (mean 69 years) were included. Mean maximal values approached or exceeded the 4g threshold for four of the seven exercises. In multivariate analyses, age (−0.53; −0.77, −0.28) (standardized beta coefficient; 95% CI) and 4-m walk time (−0.39; −0.63, −0.16) were inversely related to maximum g. Aerobics classes can be used to produce relatively high vertical accelerations in older individuals, although the outcome is strongly dependent on age and physical function.

Full access

Quantifying Habitual Levels of Physical Activity According to Impact in Older People: Accelerometry Protocol for the VIBE Study

Kevin C. Deere, Kimberly Hannam, Jessica Coulson, Alex Ireland, Jamie S. McPhee, Charlotte Moss, Mark H. Edwards, Elaine Dennison, Cyrus Cooper, Adrian Sayers, Matthijs Lipperts, Bernd Grimm, and Jon H. Tobias

Physical activity (PA) may need to produce high impacts to be osteogenic. The aim of this study was to identify threshold(s) for defining high impact PA for future analyses in the VIBE (Vertical Impact and Bone in the Elderly) study, based on home recordings with triaxial accelerometers. Recordings were obtained from 19 Master Athlete Cohort (MAC; mean 67.6 years) and 15 Hertfordshire Cohort Study (HCS; mean 77.7 years) participants. Data cleaning protocols were developed to exclude artifacts. Accelerations expressed in g units were categorized into three bands selected from the distribution of positive Y-axis peak accelerations. Data were available for 6.6 and 4.4 days from MAC and HCS participants respectively, with approximately 14 hr recording daily. Three-fold more 0.5−1.0g impacts were observed in MAC versus HCS, 20-fold more 1.0−1.5g impacts, and 140-fold more impacts ≥ 1.5g. Our analysis protocol successfully distinguishes PA levels in active and sedentary older individuals.

Full access

Social Patterning in Grip Strength, Chair Rise, and Walk Speed in an Aging Population: The Czech HAPIEE Study

Jitka Jancova-Vseteckova, Martin Bobak, Ruzena Kubinova, Nada Capkova, Anne Peasey, Michael G. Marmot, and Hynek Pikhart

Background:

The aim was to examine the association of objective measures of physical functioning (PF) with education and material circumstances and the decline in PF with age by socioeconomic position (SEP).

Methods:

In 3,205 subjects (60–75 years) from the Czech Republic, we assessed relationship between PF, SEP, and age. Linear regression was used to assess PF measures and SEP measures.

Results:

Cross-sectional decline in PF by age was similar in all individuals. Differences between SEP groups were similar across age groups, except for the difference in walk speed by material circumstances in men—bigger at older ages (p = .004). Men and women with the highest education were about 2 s faster at the chair rise test than those with the lowest education.

Discussion:

Findings suggest strong educational gradient in PF, an inconsistent role of self-assessed material circumstances, and virtually no interaction of SEP with the cross-sectional decline in PF by age.