地域高齢者への運動指導における運動定着に寄与する要因の検討

Abstract

Recently, resistance training-based exercise programs for the elderly have been widely performed as preventive approaches for long-term care in Japan. Here, we evaluated two health programs in order to find factors that would contribute to the enhancement of exercise habituation in exercise intervention for disability prevention in community-dwelling Japanese elderly. Fifty-two elderly people were instructed to stretch every part of the body and to perform low-intensity resistance training for the lower extremities as basic exercises in two classes. The participants in Class A were instructed once a week for the first four weeks and those in Class B every two weeks for 3 months. At the baseline, and 3 months later, physical performance and body mass index (BMI) were evaluated using a questionnaire survey including information on age, sex, subjective health status, habitual exercise and Self Motivation Test. We examined the factors contributing to exercise habituation by multivariate logistic analysis. There were no significant differences in the results of the questionnaire survey except for mean age between the participants in Class A and Class B. By means of these interventions, the results of Timed Up and Go and the ratio of individuals who regularly exercised were improved, whereas BMI, grip strength and standing on one leg were not. Only 29.4% of participants followed basic exercises twice a week in Class A, whereas 83.3% of participants adhered to basic exercises in Class B. Exercise habituation was higher among participants who felt subjectively healthy and habitually exercised, and most of them belonged to Class B, in comparison with subjects who did not exercise habitually. Multivariate analysis indicated that the choice of class and subjective health status of the participants were the most important factors for exercise habituation. Our findings suggest that participant-tailored program planning is important for exercise habituation as an approach to exercise intervention for community-dwelling elderly.