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Getting older adults to initiate and maintain long-term exercise is an important public health mandate. This study is an analysis of a clinical trial of 112 sedentary adults, age 65–90 years, randomly assigned to 1 of 2 exercise interventions. We examined predictors and patterns of adherence of the 6-month home-based component of the trial. Telephone follow-up and diaries were used to assess adherence. Adherence to weekend exercise during the supervised phase of the program was the strongest predictor of subsequent home-based adherence. Adherence appeared stable throughout the intervention, indicating that adherence or nonadherence was established from the outset. The authors conclude that nonadherence can be identified early in the behavioral-change process. Future studies should focus on developing strategies for adults with chronic illnesses, depressive symptoms, and functional limitations who are nonadherent early on as they initiate and attempt to maintain exercise.

The study reported had three purposes, namely, to analyze the effect of aging (cohort groups 20–29, 60–69, 70–79, and 80–89 years of age), step length, and self-efficacy on the time to reacquire stability after the execution of a step. The analysis of force-platform data showed that the time to reacquire a stable posture after taking a step increased with increments of age. Correlation analysis showed that older adults were less confident in their ability to complete daily activities without falling or losing balance and that participants with lower levels of balance-related efficacy required a longer time to reacquire stability. These findings provide evidence that aging imposes temporal limitations in the regaining of postural stability that are related to individuals’ perceptions of balance and falls efficacy.

Physical activity involvement often changes as an individual gets older. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to explore the involvement in and meanings of physical activity from childhood to the present among a selected group of Native American women. The results showed that perceived meanings of physical activity remained relatively stable over the lives of these women. Two patterns of involvement emerged among the women: decliners and rejuvenators. The results suggested that physical activity as women aged was a result not of choice as often as of a life situation. Furthermore, the changes occurring in physical activity over the life course reflected social and cultural influences, as well as individual self-determination. The findings indicated that a variety of perspectives are needed if researchers are to understand the changes that occur in physical activity patterns and how both women and men of all ethnic groups might remain involved in physical activity throughout their lives.

Age-related adaptations during walking create a more stable walking pattern, which is less effective for forward progression and might be related to balance deficiencies. This study determined the relationship between walking stability and measures of balance in older adults. Seventeen older and 20 young adults performed the Berg Balance Test (BBT) and walked 10 m. Walking velocity (WV) and cadence were measured, and a gait-stability ratio (GSR) was calculated. Higher GSR indicated that a greater portion of the gait cycle was spent in double-limb support. Age-group comparisons established declines in BBT scores and WV and increases in GSR with age. Significant relationships were identified for BBT Item 12 (alternate stepping on a stool) with WV (r = .58, r ² = .34) and GSR (r = −.74, r ² = .54). The correlation of BBT Item 12 with GSR was stronger than with WV (p < .05). Results indicated a strong relationship between increased gait stability and decreased balance for a dynamic weight-shifting task. Therefore, GSR is a better indicator of balance deficits during walking than is WV alone.

The study proposed to identify balance strategies used by younger and older adults during gait under proprioceptive, visual, and simultaneous proprioceptive-visual challenges. Participants ambulated under 4 conditions: consistent, noncompliant surface; inconsistent, compliant surface (C); consistent, noncompliant surface with vision obscured (NCVO); and inconsistent, compliant surface with vision obscured (CVO). Balance adaptations were measured as changes in gait velocity, cadence, and gait-stability ratio (GSR). Participants were 5 younger (mean age = 27.2) and 5 older (mean age = 68) healthy adults. Significant age differences were found for GSR (p = .03) on all surfaces. Older adults adopted a more stable gait pattern than younger adults regardless of the challenge presented by surface. Significant condition differences were found for velocity (p < .001) and cadence (p = .001). All participants exhibited significantly decreased velocity and increased cadence on surfaces C and CVO. Gait speed and cadence did not significantly change in NCVO. Younger and older adults exhibited similar adaptive balance strategies, slowing and increasing steps/s, under proprioceptive and proprioceptive-visual challenges to dynamic balance.

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the reproducibility of the 6-min-walk test (6MWT) in older women. A secondary purpose was to document heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP), and ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) in response to the 6MWT. Twenty-eight women with an average age of 80.0 years (±5.2) participated. They performed 2 trials of the 6MWT on 3 separate days, for a total of 6 trials. Heart rate, BP, RPE, and the total distance walked were recorded for each trial. The results indicated a significant increase from Trial 1 to Trial 2, with no differences between Trials 2–6, F(5, 131) = 7.02, p = .000. HR and BP were consistent across the 6 trials, and RPE was higher for the second trial on the second day of testing, F(5, 131) = 2.72, p = .023. The intraclass correlation coefficient for distance walked was .94. After the initial trial, performance on the 6MWT appears to be stable in older women.

The objective of this study was to measure gait abnormalities in elderly fallers with the Locometrix™ gait-analysis system. This accelerometric device provided the following gait variables: walking speed and stride frequency, length, symmetry, and regularity. The variables were analyzed over a 20-s period of stable walking on a flat track of 40 m. Participants were 20 elderly patients hospitalized for falls (mean age 80.8 ± 5.0 years) and 33 older adults living at home (mean age 77.2 ± 6.5 years). All gait variables were found to be significantly lower in the faller group (p < .05). The lower gait speed, stride length, and stride frequency were previously recognized as nonrelevant in predicting the risk of falling, whereas lower stride symmetry was related to an underlying pathology and lower stride regularity was correlated to the risk of falls. The Locometrix appears to be well suited to measure gait regularity in routine practice.

This article presents the development and validation of the Aging Stereotypes and Exercise Scale (ASES), which measures different dimensions of aging stereotypes in the exercise domain. Drawing on past research on older adults’ perceived barriers to exercise, these dimensions include stereotypes about positive and negative exercise outcomes for older adults and about older adults’ psychological barriers to exercise (i.e., lack of self-efficacy and motivation). Four studies involving 714 participants examined the factorial structure and invariance, temporal stability, and external validity of the scale. The results supported a 3-factor model that was invariant across age. Age differences in stereotype content appeared, with older adults holding more positive stereotypes than younger adults. Also as predicted, the more older adults endorsed negative stereotypes, the lower their physical self-worth, self-rated health, and subjective age. Last, responses to the ASES appeared to be stable over a 6-wk period.