(02-05-06) Regular Exercise, Not Type of Exercise, Is Most Important for Older Adults

By Michele G. Sullivan
SAN FRANCISCO - Exercise regimens consisting of walking or stretching and toning are both equally effective at improving functional fitness in sedentary older adults, James Konopack said at the annual meeting of the Society of Behavioral Medicine.
"Improvements in functional fitness in this group don't appear to be activity-specific, as long as some regular physical activity is being undertaken," said Mr. Konopack, a graduate student of kinesiology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. "This has important implications in maintaining both independence and mobility as people live longer and longer."
He randomised 94 sedentary older adults (mean age 67 years; 61% female) to either 6 months of progressive aerobic walking or 6 months of stretching and toning with progressive resistance using elastic bands.
Before beginning the trial, all participants had a baseline fitness assessment, including an exercise treadmill test that measured cardiorespiratory fitness, and a functional fitness assessment.
Functional fitness was assessed using the chair stand to assess lower-body strength; the 8-foot up-and-go, which measuresthe time required to get up from a chair, walk 8 feet, and return to the chair; arm curls using a light weight to assess upper-body strength; and a chair sit-and-reach to assess flexibility.
Both groups met three times per week. The walking group, which met in a local shopping mall, started out with 10 minutes of low-intensity walking and progressed to 45 minutes of high-intensity aerobic walking. The stretching and toning group also met three times weekly, for 45 minutes, and progressed through a series of increasingly resistant elastic bands.
At the end of the trial, all participants repeated the same battery of fitness tests. Both groups showed significant--and similar--improvements on all of the tests.
"The key conclusion is that it doesn't seem to matter what kind of activity this group undertakes, just that they get regular exercise," Mr. Konopack said.

Source: Elsevier Global Medical News

News

---

In evidenza

"L'informazione presente nel sito serve a migliorare, e non a sostituire, il rapporto medico-paziente."

Per coloro che hanno problemi di salute si consiglia di consultare sempre il proprio medico curante.