Background: The aging process commonly affects the quality of life of the elderly. Group physical exercise appears as a conservative and cheap method to improve the quality of life in this population. Aim: To evaluate the self-reported quality of life in a group of elderly submitted to a 12-week aquatic training program. Methods: Twenty-eight elderly (66.0 ± 5.8 years, 29.6 ± 3.6 kg/m²) were enrolled and submitted to a 12-week aquatic training program (02 times/week, 01 hour/session). The quality of life in the elderly was assessed by the World Health Organization Quality of Life for Older Persons (WHOQOL-OLD). Results: The aquatic training program promoted significant improvements in overall quality of life score (baseline vs 12-wk: 83.2±8.5 vs 86.6±10.3, p = 0.02) and in aspects related to "past, present and future activities" (baseline vs 12-wk: 79.9±16.4 vs 85.7±16.6, p = 0.04) and "death and dying" (baseline vs 12-wk: 74.3±23.0 vs 83.0±20.1, p = 0.04). None of the other aspects that assess the quality of life presented improvement after the aquatic training program, except for the aspect related to "social participation" which showed a tendency to improve after 12 weeks of an aquatic training program (baseline vs 12-wk: 74.8±19.1 vs 77.7±21.5, p = 0.05). Also, an improvement in the waist-hip ratio of the elderly was observed after the aquatic training program (baseline vs 12-wk: 0.90±0.07 vs 0.89±0.08; p <0.05). Conclusion: An aquatic training program performed twice a week for 12 weeks improved self-related quality of life in an elderly population.

The purpose of this study was to analyze skin temperature (Tsk) responses after a short-term maximum effort test in middle-distance runners. A quasi-experimental study was conducted with ten men (age 23.5±5.10 years) who trained 5 days per week, 2 to 3 hours per day, and were submitted to thermographic evaluation before and after Cooper's 12-minute run test (CRT). The mean temperature of the anterior-superior, posterior-superior, anterior-inferior, and posterior-inferior regions was compared between the sides (i.e., left and right) before and after CRT. The paired t-test showed a significant decrease in Tsk after CRT in the following regions: right pectoralis major (-3.4%), left pectoralis major (-3.4%), and abdomen (-5%) in the anterior-superior view (p<0.01); and in the upper right trunk (-1.9%), upper left trunk (-1.9%) and lower back (-2.9%) in the posterior-superior view (p<0.05). In the lower limbs, a significant increase in temperature of the left knee (1.6%), and right (3.6%) and left ankles (2.9%) in the anterior view (p<0.05), as well as in the right (4.3%) and left ankles (3.7%) in the posterior view (p<0.05) were observed. There was no difference in temperature between the right and left sides. In conclusion, the Tsk change of middle-distance runners was symmetrical between sides, decreasing in upper limbs and trunk and increasing in lower limbs after a short-term maximum effort test.