Level of physical activity in elderly women

• Main Authors: Nelyse de Araújo Alencar, Márcia de Assunção Ferreira, Rodrigo Gomes de Sousa Vale, Estélio Henrique Martin Dantas
• Format: Article
• Language: Portuguese
• Published: Universidade de Fortaleza 2011-09-01
• Series: Revista Brasileira em Promoção da Saúde
• Subjects: Health; Elderly; Physical Activity.
• Online Access: http://www.unifor.br/images/pdfs/rbps/artigo9_2011.3.pdf

Objective: To assess physical activity levels (PAL) in elderly women practitioners of physical activity followed-up by a Family Health team of the city of Crato-CE, Brazil. Methods: To determine the level of physical activity, we used the Modified Baecke Questionnaire for Elderly (MBQE). In the statistical evaluation of obtained differences we applied the Student t test, with a significance level of p <0.05 and size-effect. Results: Comparing the level of physical activity, according to the MBQE classification, of the women who practiced walking (67.2% of the total, PAL = 4.45, classified as high) with those who performed only domestic activities (54.1%, PAL = 1.71, low), we observed a D% = 160%, 24%, p <0.001. The Conhen index that expresses the magnitude of this difference was 6.23 (high). Conclusion: According to the results, it is inferred that the practice of regular physical activity such as walking, can improve the levels of motor activity in elderly.