Physical activity and self-rated health among 55- to 89-year-old Dutch people.

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of physical activity and the possible mediating role of perceived physical self-efficacy (PPSE) on self-rated health (SRH) in the 55- to 89-year-old Dutch population. The data are based on a structured interview carried out in a random sample of 120 subjects--60 men and 60 women with the average ages of 69 and 71 years, respectively--in Sassenheim, the Netherlands, as a pilot study of the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (LASA). The results of linear multiple regression analyses showed that physical activity was a significant predictor of self-rated health. Moreover, the results supported the role of PPSE as a mediator in the association between physical activity and self-rated health status even when age, gender, and chronic diseases were controlled. These findings suggest that in the elder population, increasing perceived physical self-efficacy may be more important for perceived health than raising the level of physical activity.

Physical activity and related factors among nursing home residents.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine physical activity and the predictors of physical activity and exercise among nursing home residents. DESIGN: Population study. PARTICIPANTS: The sample (n = 190) was obtained by selecting every man and every second women from the entire nursing home population (n = 346) in the city of Jyväskylä, central Finland, in autumn 1989. Information was eventually collected by interview from 158 persons (49 men and 109 women). SETTING: An in-home interview carried out among nursing home populations. MEASUREMENTS: Independent variables were the questions describing physical activity among nursing home populations. Dependent variables were the predictors of physical activity: depression, contentment with nursing home living, activities outside the nursing home, and self-rated functioning. MAIN RESULTS: Walking and home gymnastics were the most common forms of physical exercise. The intensity of overall exercise was rather low, and the men carried out physical exercise more intensively than the women. More than 30% of the respondents reported decreased physical activity during their stay in the nursing home. However, attitudes toward physical exercise among the residents were largely positive. The primary factor limiting physical exercise was poor health status. Among the men, physical exercise was significantly associated with self-rated functioning, depressive symptoms, and contentment with life in the nursing home. Among the women, higher contentment with the nursing home and less depression were associated with a physically active life. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that living conditions and factors related to health and functional capacity affect the level of physical activity among nursing home residents. In order to encourage this population to be physically active, attention should be paid not only to physical exercise but also to associated factors, such as satisfaction with everyday life and health.

Muscle strength according to level of physical exercise and educational background in middle-aged women in Finland.

The aim of this study was to examine the role of socio-economic status and the practice of physical exercise in explaining variation in muscle strength in 50 to 60-year-old women. Consequently, four study groups combining education and physical activity were formed: (1) university education, physically active; (2) university education, sedentary; (3) vocational or lower level of education, physically active; (4) vocational or lower level of education, sedentary. Maximal isometric strength of hand grip, arm flexion, body flexion and extension as well as dynamic power of the abdominal muscles were measured in 112 women. The results of the maximal isometric strength measurements were standardised by body mass index. The means of the maximal isometric strength results and sit-up tests were compared between the groups using two-way analysis of variance. The physically active women performed better than the sedentary in both the isometric and dynamic tests. Greater muscle strength was also found among the more highly educated compared with the less educated. The less educated sedentary women showed the poorest performance in the strength tests.

Bone mineral density and physical activity in 50-60-year-old women.

The bone mineral density (BMD) of the calcaneus was measured utilizing a single energy photon absorption method in 108 women, aged 50-60 years. The women who participated in vigorous exercise two or more times a week or whose total physical activity amounted to 4 h a week had significantly higher BMD values than those who exercised less than two times a week or did less than 4 h physical activity a week. The physically active women also showed higher values for leg extension force and maximal oxygen uptake. BMD and leg extension force were positively correlated, whereas correlations between BMD and body mass, and the width of the calcaneus were negative. When other life-style variables were taken into account, such as smoking and drinking, a significant difference in BMD was found between physically active and sedentary women, but not between the smokers and non-smokers, or the drinkers and non-drinkers.

Effect of eight weeks' physical training on muscle and connective tissue of the M. vastus lateralis in 69-year-old men and women.

Five one-hour exercise periods a week for 8 weeks included walking-jogging, swimming, gymnastics and ballgames for 26 healthy male and female 69-year-old pensioners. The mean maximal oxygen uptake of the men increased from 28.9 ml-kg-1-min-1 before training to 32.0 ml-kg-1-min-1 after training and for the women from 27.9 to 31.3 ml-kg-1-min-1. Muscle malate dehydrogenase activity was increased while that for lactate dehydrogenase decreased or remained the same. The activity of these enzymes was higher in the male both before and after training when compared with the female. However, the percentage number of slow twitch muscle fibers was nearly the same in both groups. Prolyl hydroxylase activity was increased after training especially in the female subjects. These results show that endurance-type training leads to an enhanced capacity for aerobic metabolism in older subjects and that collagen metabolism in skeletal muscles is affected by physical training.

Effects of "lifelong" physical training on functional aging in men.

Functional aging was examined in a cross-sectional study of 22 habitually trained and 22 sedentary men (aged 34 to 70 and 33 to 68, respectively) by using various physiological, psychophysiological, and anthropometric measurements. Compared to the control group, the trained subjects had significantly higher maximal oxygen uptake, vertical velocity, maximal breathing capacity, percentage of slow twitch muscle fibers, and muscle isocitrate dehydrogenase activity, in addition to lower values in body weight, systolic as well as diastolic blood pressure, patellar reflex time, serum triglycerides, and fast twitch muscle fibers (particularly glycolytic fibers). The results showed that the effects of endurance training are largely limited to functions which are apparently relevant to physical performance. The age regression lines were parallel or as in some of the variables influenced by training, even slightly steeper for the trained versus the untrained group. It is suggested that the aging process itself is not retarded by habitual physical training. Great differences between the two groups in muscle fiber composition and maximal oxygen uptake indicate that endurance-active people are also selected on the basis of inherited structural and functional properties.