Comparisons of the Health Benefits of Strength Training, Aqua-Fitness, and Aerobic Exercise for the Elderly

Abstract

Objective To compare strength training, aqua-fitness, and aerobic exercise programs to discern the differences in the benefits achieved by each of the activities in older people. Design Double-blind randomized trial. Setting Controlled clinical environment. Participants 108 people: 54 female paired with a male of the same age (average age of 65.5 ± 5.6 years). Interventions Three exercise programs (aqua-fitness, aerobic exercise, and strength training) for six months. Main Outcome Measures Body Mass Index, Senior Fitness Test (which evaluated functional fitness), and the SF-12 Health Survey. Results Men showed greater positive changes in the aerobic exercise group for general self-perceived mental health, leg strength, and flexibility of legs and arms. The largest improvements in overall self-perceived physical health and upper limb strength were in the men of the strength training group. The women participants in the strength training group obtained greater benefits, especially in self-perceived mental and physical health and in the strength of the four limbs. Conclusions To maximise benefits, older people, in general, may want to consider participating in aerobic activity. Furthermore, older women would benefit greatly, both emotionally and physically, from exercise that includes strength training.

Biopsychosocial inequality, active lifestyle and chronic health conditions: a cross-sectional National Health Survey 2013 in Brazil

“…This inequality does not seem to be related to biological but to social issues, as there is no evidence that the anatomophysiological composition of female individuals prevents them from having physically active behavior 34 , 35 . Furthermore, women who perceive and receive little social support related to the practice of physical exercise have a negative impact on quality of life, emphasizing that social support should be perceived as a determinant of people's health, by health services, by the community, through the several social actors, including family members, friends, neighbors, religious groups and health professionals 37 , 38 , which supports the statement that it is a gender issue and not biological conditioning.…”

“…A practice of weekly physical activity of moderate intensity tends to decrease with age and the presence of morbidities. The negative association between being elderly and active lifestyle in individuals with NCDs reported in this study is very worrying, considering that there is a great loss of physiological functions such as strength, balance and cognition that leads to the worsening of the progression stages of NCDs 38 , reinforced by the social stigmatization that elderly people suffer from the false assumptions of their potential fragility for physical exercise, the need for permanent rest and that their functional independence is minimal 39 .…”

Biopsychosocial Inequality, Active Lifestyle and Chronic Health Conditions In Brazilians

“…A practice of weekly physical activity of moderate intensity tends to decrease with age and increase with the presence of morbidities. The negative association between being elderly and active lifestyle in individuals with NCDs reported in this study is very worrying, considering that there is a great loss of physiological functions such as strength, balance and cognition that leads to the worsening of the progression stages of NCDs, 34,35 reinforced by the social stigmatization that elderly people suffer from the false assumptions of their potential fragility for physical exercise, the need for permanent rest and that their functional independence is minimal. 36,37 On the other hand, high levels of education and income seem to be related to active behavior in both groups and to minimize the effect of age and possibly other social indicators.…”

Effects of virtual reality-based aerobic endurance training on the functional fitness of healthy older adults: A systematic review

“…(13,14) Leirós et al, for example, demonstrated that aerobic training for the elderly markedly improved functional fitness such as strength and flexibility of upper and lower limbs, arm strength, and weight loss and reduced BMI. (15) Similarly, Ribeiro et al found that water-based aerobic training showed positive findings in functionality, as well as in some aspects related to quality of life in women over 65 years of age. (16)…”