Introduction: Physical fitness has a direct impact on daily motor function. The level of fitness generally increases with age to reach a maximal level for a given individual at around 20-30 years of age, after which it begins to gradually decrease - with the pace of the decrease depending on the type of physical activity engaged in. At every age, physical fitness can be improved by the right physical training. One factor that frequently limits participation in various types of physical activity is insufficient free time. Older individuals frequently have more free time, yet do not spend it in an active way. At the same time, elderly individuals are becoming an increasingly sizeable group within society. That means that soon a large share of Poland's population will consist of individuals with low motor fitness. To mitigate this, organizations are being formed where older individuals can participate in motor-exercise classes. This type of activity can have a positive impact on the condition of older individuals, who represent an ever-larger part of society. It is thus possible to boost the physical fitness of the elderly, and doing so is very important for this population segment's health. The objective of this study is to identify the level of physical fitness of elderly individuals who participate in the Third Age University at the Academy of Physical Education in Warsaw, and to trace the evolution of their physical fitness after 3 months of motor-exercise classes. Materials and methods: The physical fitness of 31 women was tested. All were female participants in the Third Age University at the Academy of Physical Education in Warsaw. The mean age of the subjects was 65.3 years (SD 4.42), with mean body mass 66.4 kg (SD 7,44) and mean height 157.7cm (SD 5,11). Their body mass index (BMI) ranged between 21.5 and 31.7, with the mean value being 26.5. The test was conducted twice, after an interval of 3 months. The objective was to identify an exercise regime that would cause a given individual's heart rate to increase to 130 bpm. Results: The individuals studied showed a low level of physical fitness. A 3 month period was sufficient to effect an improvement in the physical fitness of elderly individuals Conclusions: 1. Physical capacity subjects is low. 2. Using regular physical activity adapted specifically for the needs of older people can improve physical performance in elderly people. 3. A period of three months is sufficient to improve physical performance in the elderly.
Introduction: The aging process, characterized by physiological changes which compromise various organs and systems, is not the only factor leading to a decline in physical efficiency - biologically unjustified reductions in physical activities are also observed in the elderly. Various psychological, sociological and other factors may determine elderly individuals’ susceptibility to limitations in their everyday physical activities. Diagnostics of the circulation system in terms of physical efficiency and tolerance of effort are therefore more difficult in the elderly than for young individuals. Objectives: To assess the orthostatic reaction of the circulation system in elderly individuals by means of the Crampton test and to obseive changes in the coefficient values after 4 months of intensive physical activity. Material and method: Forty-four students of the University of the Third Age in Warsaw participated in the study. Their average age was 64.2 years, weight 66.5 kg and height 158.5 cm. Their heart rate and blood pressure were re-corded after 10 minutes in recumbent position and 2 minutes after taking standing positions. Results: High values in the Crampton test indicate good and very good orthostatic efficiency of the circulation system. However, these results were not found to correlate with effort ability. We conclude that the Crampton test is of low diagnostic value in the tolerance of effort prediction in the elderly.
Introduction Despite of sustainable living and increasing the knowledge of the future mothers, the number of preterm births have been at the same level through last years. In Poland it is stands at around 7%, comparable with other countries from European Union. The aim was to investigate the influence of prematurity on input power and regulation power during stress test in adult women. Achieved power depends on the level of physical efficiency and it is converted for specific VO2max values. Material and methods 11 women born prematurely at age of 25-30 years (28,2± 2,3) did stress test according to W150 protocol. The control group consisted of 15 women born on time (27-32, 28,5±2,4). The statistical analysis included t-Student and Shapiro-Wilk tests. Index height/regulation power and BMI/ regulation power have been subjected to correlations. Results There is statistical significant difference between input and regulation power in women born prematurely and the control group. Women from control group had significantly higher input and regulation power than women born premature. Moreover, there is propor-tionality between input and regulation power in two groups. Conclusions 1. Prematurity influences the amount of power generated in women aged 25-30 negatively – women born prematurely are evidently less physically efficient than women born on time. 2. There is a connection between input and regulation power in both groups. Higher amounts of input power indicates higher amounts of regulation power. 3. There is no relationship between BMI and amounts of power in stress test.
Introduction: Morphological and functional changes in cells, tissues and organs causing characteristic for old age reduction of the efficiency of all organs, and therefore decrease in the level of physical fitness. To determine its level, to find areas of weakness and select optimal physical activity programs that will improve the quality of life and health of older people it is necessary to multi-dimensional assess the level of physical fitness. The aim of this study is to evaluate the fitness level of students of the University of the Third Age in Warsaw Almamer with Fullerton Functional Fitness Test in relation to American standards. Material and methods: The study was conducted on a 40-person group of students of the University of Third Age Almamer in Warsaw, at the age of 60-70 years. Mobility assessment was based on a comparison of results obtained by the Fullerton Functional Fitness Test with standards developed by the authors test for the U.S. population. Results: In all trials conducted with Fullerton Test women got positive results after normalization to the mean and standard deviation of the U.S. population peers. The greatest variation among the test subjects compared to American standards test result was observed in flexion of the forearm. Conclusions: The tested listeners of UTW characterized a good level of physical fitness Fullerton The test evaluated in relation to American standards. According to the authors, developing standards for the test used in Polish conditions would contribute to a more reliable assessment of people over 60 years old.
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