Changes in anthropometric parameters and physical fitness in older adults after participating in a 16-week physical activity program

Abstract

Introduction: Physical activity is important for achieving healthy aging. Objective: To analyze changes in anthropometric parameters and physical fitness among Chilean older adults after participating in a 16-week physical activity program and to evaluate whether there were differences in relation to their baseline nutritional status or not. Materials and methods: Pre-experimental quantitative study. The study population consisted of 176 older adults (155 women and 21 men) distributed in three groups: normal weight (n=56), overweight (n=67) and obese (n=53). The following variables were evaluated: body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist-to-height ratio (WHR) and physical fitness. Results: Significant decreases between pre- and post-measurements were found for WC (p<0.001), BMI (p=0.015), and WHR (p<0.001). Improvements were observed in the following tests: chair stand (p<0.001), arm curl (p<0.001), 2-min step (p<0.001), chair sit-&-reach (p=0.018) and back scratch (p=0.014). Regarding BMI, significant changes were observed between normal weight vs. overweight participants (p=0.001) and between normal weight vs. obese participants (p=0.001). Conclusion: Older adult participants that regularly attended the physical activity program were able to reduce their WC, BMI and WHR, and also improved their physical-functional performance on the chair stand, arm curl, 2-min step, chair sit-&-reach and back scratch tests. In addition, anthropometric parameters and physical fitness also improved regardless of their baseline nutritional status.

Effects of Olympic Combat Sports on Health-Related Quality of Life in Middle-Aged and Older People: A Systematic Review

“…In addition, the leading causes of attrition are related to diseases, personal problems, not meeting minimum attendance, or conflicts with the training schedule, while only two studies reported a loss of interest (Marie-Ludivine et al, 2010;Combs et al, 2013). This is relevant since PA workshops based on multi-component training and healthy dance in older people implemented by a government institution reported adherence of 54.6% after 16 weeks of participation (Valdés-Badilla et al, 2020). OCS may be PA strategies with high adherence (average >80%), which could transform them into an opportunity to achieve greater outreach and participation in middle-aged and older people, without postponing the benefits for their health (Bu et al, 2010;Origua Rios et al, 2018;Valdés-Badilla et al, 2021).…”

Effectiveness of Adapted Taekwondo, Multi-Component Training and Walking Exercise on Health Status in Independent Older Women: Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial (TKD & Aging Project)

“…In addition, young taekwondo practitioners are generally athletes of regional or national level [ 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 ]. Therefore, the aim of the interventions does not seek to favor the health of the participants but rather the sports performance, instead, the older people generally practice physical activity to improve their health status [ 4 , 22 ].…”

“…Following the above, proposing alternative physical activity strategies such as TKD programs for older people, especially for Chilean older women who have high rates of a sedentary lifestyle and overweight/obesity [ 18 , 19 ], can be a viable alternative for at least four reasons: (i) little space is required, which is consistent with the characteristics of Family Health Centers (in Spanish, CESFAM) and Community centers that host physical activity governmental workshops in Chile [ 22 ]; (ii) it requires tiny implementation because a large part of the activities are developed individually and in pairs [ 8 , 14 ]; (iii) low costs required to carry out this type of intervention, which would allow its use in a large population of older people [ 8 ]; and (iv) the variety of technical foundations that allow the use of innumerable combinations of movements, a fact that could generate greater motivation and adherence to training [ 8 , 14 ].…”

“…The sample size calculation indicates that the ideal number of participants per group is 16. According to previous studies [ 22 ], for this calculation, an average difference of 3.46 repetitions (chair stand test) was used as the minimum difference required for substantial clinical relevance, with a standard deviation of 3.38 repeats, considering an alpha level of 0.05 with 90% power and an expected loss of 15%. GPower software (Version 3.1.9.6, Franz Faul, Universiät Kiel, Kiel, Germany) will be used to calculate statistical power.…”

“…The main part of the MCT will consist of 40 min of distributed work in a circuit, including resistance training focused on the large muscles of the upper limbs (i.e., biceps, triceps, deltoids, and latissimus dorsi) and lower limbs (i.e., quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and gastrocnemius) combined with exercises aimed at cardiorespiratory fitness, agility and postural control (static and dynamic balance), using elastic bands, poles, 2-kg medicine balls, and chairs, following previous recommendations [ 4 , 5 , 7 , 11 , 22 ]. The training volume will start (the first 4-weeks) with 3 sets of 10 repetitions per muscular exercise with a 2 min rest period between the sets, performing slow movements of two seconds in concentric contraction and four seconds in eccentric contraction [ 25 ].…”