Health promotion for the elderly : the benefits of physical activity on the aging process

• Main Author: Guðlaug Dís Erlendsdóttir 1998-
• Other Authors: Háskólinn í Reykjavík
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 2022
• Subjects: Íþróttavísindi og þjálfun; Meistaraprófsritgerðir; Heilsuefling; Hreyfing (heilsurækt); Öldrun; Aldraðir; Heimsfaraldrar; COVID-19; Exercise science and coaching; Health promotion; Physical activity; Aging; Older people; Curl; Halda; Iceland
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1946/42015

Society is aging rapidly and it is, therefore, necessary to pay attention to the health of the elderly, as that age group is in most need of health care. It is important to inform older people of the importance of exercise and the positive effect that exercise has on the aging process but a large proportion of older people are physically inactive. Good health in later life can improve quality of life as well as independence. The aim of this study is to assess if a two-year multimodal health promotion intervention impacts the physical health of elderly participants in Iceland. The possible effects of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, reaching Iceland during the intervention, on the results were investigated. This is a two-year exercise intervention for the elderly (65+). Participants counted 84 in the beginning but reduced to 56 in the last measurements, which makes a 33.3% dropout. Females were in the majority in all measurements. Every 6 months, participants underwent measurements where body composition and physical fitness variables were measured. Daily exercise increased from 17 minutes to 32 minutes after the intervention. Despite the increased daily activity, body composition did not change much throughout the intervention. More improvements were made in the physical fitness tests (30s bicep curl- and chair stand tests, sit and reach, SPPB scores), although statistically significant differences could not be found between all variables. The results show that organized exercise intervention can maintain physical function in later life but if exercise recommendations are not met, health variables can decrease rapidly. Keywords: Aging process, physical activity, inactivity, health promotion, pandemic. Lífaldur samfélagsins fer sífellt hækkandi og þarf því að huga vel að heilsu eldra fólks þar sem sá aldurshópur þarf hvað mest á heilbriðisþjónustu að halda. Stór hluti eldra fólks er líkamlega óvirkt og því nauðsynlegt að upplýsa fólk um mikilvægi hreyfingar og þau jákvæðu áhrif sem hreyfing hefur á öldrunarferlið. Góð ...