Physical Fitness Characteristics Of An Elderly Population Living In A Retirement Community

Abstract

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to examine selected physical fitness parameters in a group of elderly residents living in a retirement community located in the upper midwest region of the United States. A secondary purpose was to compare these results with a set of normative data established using the Senior Fitness Test (SFT) developed by Rikli and Jones (1999). METHODS Elderly, caucasian subjects (n=39) were asked to complete a battery of fitness tests as outlined in the SFT. There were 12 subjects in the 70–79 (75.4±4 yrs) age range and 27 subjects in the 80–89 (84.1 ± 3 yrs) age range. In accordance with standard SFT procedure, testing included the chair stand test, the arm curl test, the 2-minute step test, the chair sit-and-reach test, the back scratch test, and the 8-foot up-and-go test. All fitness testing was conducted by personnel who had been instructed on the proper administration of the SFT. Following calculation of means and standard deviations, comparisons between this sample and SFT averages were made using a series of t-tests for each individual test parameter. RESULTS For both the 70–79 and the 80–89 age groups, average scores on the chair stand test (8.7 ± 4.7, 9.3 ± 2.9 repetitions), the arm curl test (13.2 ± 4.5, 13 ± 4.7 repetitions), and the 8-foot up-and-go test (10 ± 5.6, 12.2 ± 8.6 sec), were significantly lower (p<0.05) than SFT averages. Furthermore, the 80–89 age group, but not the 70–79 age group, also scored significantly lower than the SFT average on the chair sit-and-reach test. For the back scratch test and the 2-minute step test, no significant differences were observed between this sample and SFT averages for either age group. CONCLUSIONS Based on these results, it appears that the elderly subjects in this study scored lower on several measures of physical fitness when compared with currently accepted population averages. While our findings are preliminary, it would seem that exercise interventions for improving muscular strength, agility, and dynamic balance are indeed warranted for this sample group.