Exercise
Summary Of Benefits
Physiologic aging, retirement, societal expectations, accumulated diseases, and medication and nutritional effects conspire to produce deficits in strength, balance, aerobic capacity, and flexibility in older adults. Fortunately, there is increasing evidence for the reversibility of many of these deficits with a targeted exercise prescription. There is still work to be done in refining the prescription, particularly in terms of the amount of flexibility and balance training needed for optimal efficacy. In addition, there is a need for well-controlled, long-term studies on clinically important outcomes, such as treatment of cardiovascular disease and stroke, prevention and treatment of hip fracture, prevention of diabetic complications, reduction in nursing home admission rates, and moderation of disability from arthritis. An "active lifestyle" may be the most desirable public health approach to the maintenance of function and the prevention of disease in healthy persons. However, it is likely that the use of exercise to treat preexisting diseases and geriatric syndromes will always need to incorporate elements of a traditional "exercise prescription," as well as behavioral approaches, to more fully integrate appropriate physical activity into daily life.
MARIA FIATARONE SINGH
See also BALANCE AND MOBILITY; BALANCE, SENSE OF; FRAILTY; HEART DISEASE; LIFE EXPECTANCY; PERIODIC HEALTH EXAMINATION; SARCOPENIA.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
American College of Sports Medicine. "The Recommended Quantity and Quality of Exercise for Developing and Maintaining Cardiopulmonary and Muscular Fitness in Healthy Adults." Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 22 (1990): 265–274.
American College of Sports Medicine. Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription. Philadelphia: Williams & Wilkins, 1995.
BLAIR, S. N.; KOHL, H.; BARLOW, C.; et al. "Changes in Physical Fitness and All-Cause Mortality: A Prospective Study of Healthy and Unhealthy Men." Journal of the American Medical Association 273 (1995): 1093–1098.
BORTZ, W. M. "Redefining Human Aging." Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 37 (1989): 1092–1096.
DRINKWATER, B.; GRIMSON, S.; CULLEN-RAAB, D.; et al. "ACSM Position Stand on Osteoporosis and Exercise." Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 27 (1995): i–vii.
FIATARONE SINGH, M. Exercise, Nutrition and the Older Woman: Wellness for Women over Fifty Boca Raton, Fla.: CRC Press, 2000.
HELMRICH, S.; RAGLAND, D.; and PAFFENBARGER, R. "Prevention of Non-Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus with Physical Activity." Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 26 (1994): 824–830.
LEE, I.-M.; PAFFENBARGER, R. S.; and HENNEKENS, C. H. "Physical Activity, Physical Fitness and Longevity." Aging Clinical and Experimental Research 9 (1997): 2–11.
MAZZEO, R.; CAVANAUGH, P.; EVANS, W.; et al. "Exercise and Physical Activity for Older Adults." Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 30 (1998): 992–1008.
MILLER, M.; REJESKI, W.; REBOUSSIN, B.; et al. "Physical Activity, Functional Limitations, and Disability in Older Adults." Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 48 (2000): 1264–1272.
National Institute of Health, Center for Disease Prevention. "Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Health." Journal of the American Medical Association 276 (1996): 241–246.
PATE, R. R.; PRATT, M.; BLAIR, S. N.; et al. "Physical Activity and Public Health: A Recommendation From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American College of Sports Medicine." Journal of the American Medical Association 273 (1995): 402–407.
PROVINCE, M.; HADLEY, E.; HORNBROOK, M.; et al. "The Effects of Exercise on Falls in Elderly Patients." Journal of the American Medical Association 273 (1995): 1341–1347.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Physical Activity and Health: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, Ga.: U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, 1996.
EXPANDED ROLE NURSE
See NURSE PRACTITIONER
Additional topics
Medicine EncyclopediaAging Healthy - Part 2Exercise - Retarding The Aging Process, Minimizing Risk Factors For Chronic Disease, Adjunctive And Primary Treatment Of Chronic Disease