부산대학교 도서관

Age related declines in functional fitness (FF) (i.e., aerobic endurance, strength, balance, flexibility, and agility) pose problems for older adults to maintain physical independence. There are few published longitudinal studies examining the preventative effects of exercise on loss of FF older adults. PURPOSE: To compare longitudinal changes over five years of in FF outcomes between older adult males and females. METHODS: The Canadian Centre for Activity and Aging (CCAA) hosts regular two- and three-times per week group exercise classes which include annual FF assessments (FFAx). Eighty-nine participants in the CCAA exercise classes completed at least five FFAx between 2009 and 2018 and were included in the analysis, (n=30 males, age=73.7±6.3 years; n=59 females, 70.6±6.4 years). Changes in performance for each FF component were compared over time, between sexes, and relative to normative age-matched data. RESULTS: Females exhibited higher scores than males for flexibility (p≤0.02). Agility performance declined significantly over time (p=0.01), with no sex differences (p=0.55). Upper body strength increased significantly over time in females, but not males (p=0.02). Females showed better performance than age-matched normative values in at least three out of six age categories for lower body strength, upper body strength, and endurance (p≤0.04), and males in lower body strength and endurance (p≤0.04). CONCLUSION: Despite small decreases in agility performance in males and females, participation in group exercise over five years kept participants well above FF thresholds of physical dependence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]