Relationship of Physical Activity Facilitators and Body Mass Index in Kashan Elderly

• Main Authors: Zahra Khalili, Ali Sadrollahi, Maryam Khatir Ahmadi, Najima Mossadegh, Masoumeh Hosseinian, Negin Masoudi Alavi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences 2015-12-01
• Series: Elderly Health Journal
• Subjects: Body mass index; Aging; Physical activity facilitators
• Online Access: http://ehj.ssu.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-24-5&slc_lang=en&sid=1
• ISSN: 2423-6179; 2423-6179

Introduction: There are many factors that affect the level of physical activity and body mass index of the elderly. The current study aimed to assess the relationship of  physical activity facilitators and body mass index of Kashan elderly. Methods: The cross-sectional study sampled 400 elderly older than 60 referred to 10 healthcare centers in Kashan, 2014, via multistage quota method. Participations were tested under demographic characters, body mass index(BMI) level, and exercise benefits part of exercise benefits and barrier scale (persian  version) for measurig  physical activity facilitators. Data were analyzed in SPSS software, descriptive statistic, Spearman correlation test, Chi-Square and Ordinal regression. Results: Of the participations73.6% were overweight or obese. Median and interquartile range (IQR) of  physical activity facilitators was 75 and 33 respectively. The most prominent  physical activity facilitators was" physical activity increases my physical ability, (83.2%). There was a significantly inverse relationship between  physical activity facilitators  score and BMI of participants (r=-0.233, P=0.001). Ordinal regression evealed that mostly predictor of  BMI among  physical activity facilitators was "physical activity improves the quality of my work " (OR=8.683, P=0.001). Conclusion: Results identified  physical activity facilitators directly is related to improve physical circumstances of the elderly people. Surly poviding  physical activity facilitators through educational and interventional programs may improve the health status of aging population.