Physical fitness related to age and physical activity in older persons

Abstract

This study investigated physical fitness as a function of age and leisure time physical activity (LTPA) in a community-based sample of 624 persons aged 57 yr and older. LTPA during the last 12 months was assessed through personal interviews. A wide range of physical fitness components was measured using performance-based tests. Physical fitness was associated with the interaction age by LTPA in only a few components, in a gender-specific way, with generally larger differences in fitness between active and less active persons with increasing age. All LTPA, including low intensity LTPA, is positively and age-independent associated with most physical fitness components. The importance of LTPA typically participated in by the general population lies not so much in the delaying of the motor aging process but rather in a general, age-independent, positive effect.