Verify the effect of rapid functional fitness test and the multi-component exercise training for community-dwelling older adults

• Main Authors: Ho, Hsin-Hung, 何信弘
• Other Authors: Chang, Shao-Hsi
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2016
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/52038365857647948953

博士 === 國立臺灣師範大學 === 體育學系 === 105 === Exercise training, an economic and effective strategy to boost the health of community-dwelling older adults, has been adopted in many countries for the past decades. Research shows that a high percentage of the aged population in Taiwan do spend quite an amount of time on daily activities or health-related programs; however, there is widespread lack of intensity. This lack of intensity leads to them suffering from sarcopenia and increases their risk of falling down or becoming disabled. Unfortunately, the aged are not offered proper exercise training, based on their functional fitness or performance tests. They are mixed in the same programs despite their fitness differences, which has greatly reduced the effects of exercise training and has wasted lots of public resources. This study aims to verify the efficiency of rapid functional fitness tests to help health-promoting workers on the primary level to assess more accurately and conveniently the fitness of the older adults. In addition, this study focuses on the effectiveness of multi-component exercise training for people at different risk levels of sarcopenia. To this end, researcher used survey research and quasi-experiment method. The subjects of the first project were recruited from the health-promoting programs held in Taipei and Tainan, sponsored by the Ministry of Science and Technology in 2015 and Taipei city government. In it, 145 participants, averagely 71.35 years of age, completed Senior Functional Fitness Test (SFT), Handgrip Test, and One-leg Standing Test with their eyes open. Then in a quasi-experiment, another 60 older adult were recruited from the mentioned program, averagely 74.62 years of age and at different risk levels of sarcopenia, were selected and given multi-exercise training (aerobic exercise, resistance exercise, flexibility exercise, and balance training) for 12 weeks. By checking their performance differences at the beginning and at the end of the program, the efficiency of the tests and the effectiveness of the training are revealed. Based on the findings, it is strongly suggested that rapid multi-functional tests should be given to the aged before the intervention of exercise training, and that they should be put into different groups based on their fitness. By doing this, the program can be more effective, run lower risk, cater to personal needs of the aged, and save the assessment cost.