PURPOSE: Designed to examine the effects of aerobic exercise therapy on elders' physical functions. METHODS: Selected from an elderly welfare center in an agricultural district located in N City. Thirty seven elders were selected in the experimental group and 38 in the control group, and all the subjects aged over 65. Collected data were statistically analyzed by SPSS/PC 12.0 Win. Detailed data analysis methods were Chi-square, Fisher's exact test, Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, t-test, Mann-Whitney u-test, paired t-test, and Wilcoxon's rank sum test. RESULTS: The first hypothesis "The experimental group who had the aerobic exercise therapy will have greater development in lower leg muscular strength compared to the control group" was supported (t=8.95, p<.001). The second hypothesis "Aerobic exercise therapy participants will show greater development in lower leg endurance" was supported (t=6.12, p<.001). The third hypothesis "Aerobic exercise therapy participants will show greater development in flexibility" was supported (U=49.00, p<.001). The forth hypothesis "Aerobic exercise therapy participants will show greater development in balance" was supported (U=322.00, p<.001). CONCLUSION: The aerobic exercise therapy showed positive effects on physical functions of the elderly in a rural area.
Aged* ; Exercise Therapy ; Exercise* ; Humans ; Leg ; Statistics as Topic

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a cardiac rehabilitation program for patients with myocardial infarction. METHOD: The subjects were 45 myocardial infarction patients(22 for experimental group and 23 for the control group). Data were collected through questionnaire survey, blood test, and the treadmill test, between October 1, 1999 and December 31, 2000. As for data analyses, paired and unpaired t-test and x2 test were adopted using the SAS program. RESULT: 1. The post-test revealed that increase in compliance score of health behavior was significantly higher in the experimental group than in the control group. 2. The increase in HDL cholesterol was significantly higher in the experimental group than in the control group, in the post-test. 3. The experimental group showed significantly higher duration of exercise time and maximal METs than the control group after the program. CONCLUSION: The above findings indicate that a cardiac rehabilitation program was effective in increasing compliance of health behaviors, serum HDL cholesterol level, duration of exercise time, and maximal METs in patients with myocardial infarction. Accordingly, we can adopt the individualized cardiac rehabilitation programs as a nursing intervention.
Cholesterol, HDL ; Compliance ; Exercise Test ; Health Behavior* ; Hematologic Tests ; Humans ; Myocardial Infarction* ; Nursing ; Rehabilitation* ; Statistics as Topic

This study aims to examine the effect of 8-week 11+ program on technical skills and balance abilities of high school soccer players. This study targeted 40 soccer players from G and K club in Gyeonggi-do and 20 players from G team and 20 players from K team were placed in the training group and the control group, respectively. For data analysis, variable values of the two groups before and after intervention were calculated as averages and standard deviations using the SPSS ver. 21.0 statistic program. For analyzing within-group differences, paired t-test was conducted and for analyzing between-group differences, independent sample t-test was conducted. The statistical significance level was set at 0.05. The major study findings are as follows. First, the 11+ program was more effective in improving Jug 200 and short pass ability than static stretching. Second, the 11+ program was more effective in the posteromedial and posterolateral areas of Y-balance test than static stretching. These results demonstrate that the 11+ program is relatively effective in improving technical skills and balance abilities of soccer players. Therefore, it is considered that it is important to introduce and distribute the 11+ program to leaders, who are responsible for enhancing skills of soccer players.
Gyeonggi-do ; Humans ; Muscle Stretching Exercises ; Postural Balance ; Proprioception ; Soccer* ; Statistics as Topic ; Warm-Up Exercise

The purpose of this study is to analyze the effects of exercise therapy on serum lipid levels and antioxidants of obese and normal college female students. The subject group composed of ten normal-weight students(below 30% body fat ratio) and ten obese students(above 30% body fat ratio). After a pilot test, the subjects were given an eight-weeks exercise program. Before and after the exercise program, the subjects were given test for serum lipid and antioxidants were analyzed. The SAS program was used in the data analysis. The statistical measurements employed here were T-test, Wilcoxon signed rank test, and Wilcoxon rank sum test. The results of this research are as follows. 1) The effects of exercise therapy on serum lipid levels; Before the exercise therapy, the levels of Total-cholesterol, Triglyceride and LDL-cholesterol of the obese group were higher than those of the normal-weight group. However, the HDL-cholesterol levels were higher in the normal-weight group than in the obese group, but these differences were not significant. With the exercise therapy, the levels of Total-cholesterol increased gradually. The HDL-cholesterol increased gradually, the LDL-cholesterol level decreased in both groups, However, the Triglyceride level decreased in the obese group and increased in normal group, but the difference was not significant. 2) The effects of the exercise therapy on serum antioxidants; Before exercise therapy, the serum FR and GSSG levels of the obese group were significantly higher than those if the normal-weight group(p=0.00, p=0.04). The serum GSH level of the normal-weight group was higher than that of the obese group, and the serum MDA level of the obese group was higher than that of the normal-weight group. Again these differences were not significant. With exercise therapy, serum FR level was reduced and serum GSSG level significantly increased in both group(obese group p=0.01, normal-weight group p=0.01), The serum GSH level of the obese group significantly increased(p=0.01), and serum MDA level significantly increase in the obese group(p=0.01), but the difference in the normal-weight group was not significant. These results show that regular exercise therapy reduces serum FR levels and activation of antioxidant systems, and suppress oxidative stress. These effects were slightly higher in the obese group than in the normal-weight group. The regular exercise therapy decrease the serum Triglyceride levels more in the obese group than in the normal-weight group. However the improvement of the serum lipid profile may require a longer exercise period than eight weeks. The results show that the exercise therapy was overall more effective in the obese group than the normal-weight group.
Adipose Tissue ; Antioxidants* ; Exercise Therapy* ; Female* ; Glutathione Disulfide ; Humans ; Oxidative Stress ; Statistics as Topic ; Triglycerides

This study analyze the relation between body composition, physical activity (PA), and sex in Chilean children from rural and urban public educational institutions. The prevalence of obesity (according to BMI) was 30.88% in urban children and 28.93% in rural children. Central obesity presented mainly in the rural girls. Approximately 90% of the participants reported <7 h of PA/week, regardless of residential area. In addition, central fat was strongly associated with rural residence; the children reported lower PA levels, and they presented a higher prevalence of central fat. The results reflect the need to implement programs to improve PA conditions in the child urban-rural population.
Adolescent ; Body Fat Distribution ; statistics & numerical data ; Child ; Chile ; epidemiology ; Exercise ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Obesity ; epidemiology ; Rural Population ; statistics & numerical data ; Urban Population ; statistics & numerical data

OBJECTIVETo analyze the role of step-test on large sample surveillance in students' physical fitness and health.

METHODSTotally, 36 237 students aged 12-, 14- and 17-year-old from fifteen Chinese provinces taking part in the 2004th National Surveillance on Students' Physical Fitness and Health were enrolled in this study. All of them passed through the step-test, of which the indices were calculated in combining with the performance time and pulse rates in resuming period. The means of step-test index were analyzed among various youth groups, and compared with the obesity, overweight and the normal-weight subjects.

RESULTSAs compared with the general level of physical growth, the means of step-test index were found higher in rural groups than in urban ones, and higher in southern groups than in northern ones. The highest means of index was found in the rural groups in having the lowest socioeconomic status, and also the lowest means found in metropolis groups having the highest socioeconomic status. These gaps were due to the change of life style, absence of physical exercise and relatively to the high body weight of the high socioeconomic-level groups. Among the obesity, overweight and normal-weight youths, the means of step-test index was shown in a gradient decrease tendency, and those significant gaps might be found between the obesity and the overweight, and the overweight and the normal-weight groups, showing that there should be harmful influences of overweight and obesity on the youth's cardiovascular function.

CONCLUSIONAs a safe and easily-taken measure for cardiovascular function, the step-test should be useful in regularly measuring the national students' physical fitness and health status.

Adolescent ; Body Mass Index ; Child ; Exercise ; Exercise Test ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Obesity ; prevention & control ; Physical Fitness ; Rural Population ; statistics & numerical data ; Students ; statistics & numerical data ; Urban Population ; statistics & numerical data ; Young Adult

BACKGROUND: Preventing the need for long-term care (LTC) by identifying physical function risk factors are important to decrease the LTC burden. The objective of this study was to investigate whether grip strength and/or walking speed, which are components of the frailty definition, are associated with LTC in community-dwelling older and oldest people. METHODS: The participants were 1098 community-dwelling older and oldest people who had not received LTC at the baseline. The endpoint was receiving LTC after the baseline survey. The independent variables were grip strength and walking speed, and participants were divided into two groups based on these variables. The confounding factors were age, sex, the Japanese version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA-J), hypertension, diabetes mellitus, stroke, joint diseases, living alone, body mass index, and serum albumin. We calculated the hazard ratio of receiving LTC using the Cox proportional hazard model. RESULTS: Among the 1098 participants, 107 (9.7%) newly received LTC during the follow-up. Regarding the physical function, only slow walking speed was significantly correlated with LTC after adjusting for all confounding factors except the MoCA-J score (HR = 1.74, 95% CI = 1.10-2.75, P = .018). However, slow walking speed was still a risk factor for LTC after adjusting for the MoCA-J score and other confounding factors (HR = 1.64, 95% CI = 1.03-2.60, P = .037). CONCLUSIONS The findings from this study may contribute to a better understanding of slow walking speed as a factor related to LTC, which might be a criterion for disability prevention and could serve as an outcome measure for physical function in older people.
Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Exercise ; Female ; Humans ; Independent Living ; statistics & numerical data ; Japan ; Long-Term Care ; statistics & numerical data ; Male ; Proportional Hazards Models

BACKGROUND: Slow-motion training, which comprises exercising using extremely slow-movements, yields a training effect like that of high-intensity training, even when the applied load is small. We developed a slow-training exercise program that allows elderly people to safely use their own body weight without a machine. Previously, it was confirmed that functional gait and lower limb muscle strength were improved by low-intensity training using bodyweight training for 3 months. This study evaluated the long-term effects of low-intensity training using body weight with slow-movements on the motor function of frail, elderly patients. METHODS: Ninety-six elderly men and women aged 65 years or older whose level of nursing care was classified as either support required (1 and 2) or long-term care required (care levels 1 and 2) volunteered to participate. Two facilities were used. Participants at the first facility used low-intensity training using body weight with slow-movements (low-stress training [LST] group, n = 65), and participants at another facility used machine training (MT group, n = 31). Exercise interventions were conducted for 12 months, once or twice per week, depending on the required level of nursing care. Changes in motor function were examined. RESULTS: Post-intervention measurements based on the results of the chair-stand test after 12 months showed significant improvements from pre-intervention levels (P < 0.0001) in the LST group and MT group. Although the ability of performing the Timed Up & Go test and the ability to stand on one leg with eyes open improved in both groups, no significant change was observed. When changes after 12 months were compared between the two groups, no significant difference was observed for any variables. CONCLUSIONS: Slow body weight training for 12 months without a machine improved the lower limb muscle strength. Therefore, it could have the same effects as training using a machine. TRIAL REGISTRATION UMIN000030853 . Registered 17 January 2018 (retrospectively registered).
Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Body Weight ; Exercise Therapy ; statistics & numerical data ; Female ; Frail Elderly ; statistics & numerical data ; Humans ; Japan ; Male ; Movement ; Prospective Studies

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a community-based muscle and joint self-management program with muscle stretching and muscle strengthening exercises for community-dwelling older adults. METHODS: The study was a pre-and-post design in a single group, which examined the effects after the intervention of muscle and joint self-management program for 6 weeks, on the 42 subjects of the elderly who registered in a Community Senior Center in J city. Data analyses were conducted with paired t-test by using a SAS (version 9.2 for Windows) program. RESULTS: The effectiveness of muscle and joint self-management program on shoulder flexibility and right knee extension (flexibility) were significantly improved (t=2.72, p=.010; t=−2.26, p=.029). Joint symptoms (pain, stiffness), physical functioning, depression, fatigue, and left knee extension were not significantly improved after the muscle and joint self-management program. CONCLUSION: The results showed the possibility of this 6-week exercise program in improving shoulder and knee flexibility for community-dwelling older adults.
Adult* ; Aged ; Depression ; Exercise ; Fatigue ; Humans ; Joints* ; Knee ; Muscle Strength ; Pliability ; Self Care* ; Senior Centers ; Shoulder ; Statistics as Topic

OBJECTIVETo explore the level of physical activities (PA) and related influencing factors among junior high school personnel in Hangzhou.

METHODSIn a cross sectional study, a self administered questionnaire was used to assess the levels of PA. Kruskal-Wallis H test and ordinal regression were applied to analyze the related factors.

RESULTSAmong the 1 497 school personnel included in this study, prevalence rates on the low, moderate and high levels of PA were 40.8%, 40.6% and 18.6%, respectively. Data from the multinomial logistic regression analysis indicated that:when comparing with the low level, people aged ≥ 45 (OR = 1.576, 95% CI:1.128-2.201) or those having minor perceived stress (OR = 1.490, 95% CI:1.141-1.946) more likely to fall into the moderate level. However, factors as higher awareness scores on the benefit of PA (OR = 1.070, 95%CI:1.002-1.143), being male (OR = 3.088, 95%CI:2.162-4.409), always or very often taking PA together with colleagues (OR = 2.903, 95%CI:1.587-5.312), taking PA once in a while together with colleagues (OR = 1.900, 95%CI:1.160-3.110) or having space to walk around home (OR = 1.657, 95% CI:1.022-2.688) would increase the likelihood of having high PA level. However, factors as marital status, socioeconomic status, years of working at school, BMI, level of having received education and positive impact from colleagues etc. did not seem to have significantly related to the PA level.

CONCLUSIONGender, age, stress from work and supportive environment should be taken into account while planning on promoting the PA level among junior high school personnel in Hangzhou.

Adult ; China ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Exercise ; Faculty ; statistics & numerical data ; Female ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Surveys and Questionnaires