Influence of overweight on functional capacity of physically active older women

Abstract

Aging comprises a dynamic and progressive process, characterized by physiological and functional changes. Among these changes, increase in body fat is considered relevant, since it can leads to impaired physical fitness and augmented cardiometabolic risks. Considering this, the objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of overweight on functional capacity of physically active older women. A field survey was performed with 24 older women who practiced physical exercise. Participants were submitted to anamnesis, anthropometric measures (i.e., body mass and height); the Senior Fitness test; sit and reach flexibility test; and handgrip strength test. Pearson’s correlation test and multivariate logistic regression were used to verify the association between overweight and functional capacity. It was observed that hip flexibility (R=-0.494, p=0.014) and flexibility of the lower limbs (i.e., sit and reach test) showed negative correlation with the body mass index (R=-0.446, p=0.02); and after the multivariate logistic regression, negative correlation of lower limbs flexibility (B=-0,035, p=0,014) and the body mass index was observed. Thus, higher the body mass index among participants, lower hip flexibility they presented.

Poor health-related physical fitness performance increases the overweight and obesity risk in elderly people from Taiwan

“…Studies have veri ed that aging decreases the exibility [19]. In particular, the BMI and exibility in female older adults exhibit a signi cant negative correlation, which indicates that overweight and obesity reduce the exibility [20][21][22]. This study used interference factors to adjust and compute odds ratios; the ndings revealed that the lower exibility scores are associated with higher overweight or obese risks.…”

“…Results 21,630 participants aged 65 to 96 years with complete data were included from Taiwan's National Physical Fitness Examination Survey Databases (35.38 % of men). Demographic characteristics and anthropometric variables are presented in Table 1.…”

Poor Health-related Physical Fitness Performance Increases the Overweight and Obesity Risk in Elderly People From Taiwan

“…Studies have veri ed that aging decreases the exibility [17]. In particular, the BMI and exibility in female older adults exhibit a signi cant negative correlation, which indicates that OW and obesity reduce the exibility [18][19][20]. This study used interference factors to adjust and compute odds ratios; the ndings revealed that in OW and OB older adults in Taiwan, different obesity levels signi cantly in uenced their chair sit-and-reach and back scratch test scores.…”