Attitudes towards health and physical activity in the elderly. Effects of a physical training program.

Attitudes towards physical activity, perceived health, body image, anxiety and life satisfaction have been studied in men and women 60 years of age and older, volunteering for progressive endurance training. Relative to other studies of younger volunteers, the senior citizens placed more value upon activity as "an esthetic experience" and as "a means to health and fitness" showing less interest in "the pursuit of vertigo." Many non-participants and "drop-outs" perceived their current fitness as satisfactory. Subjects who selected a low frequency and low intensity of training were obese, with high Cornell Medical Index (CMI) scores on both organic and psychological scales. After 14 weeks of conditioning, 83% of subjects reported improvements in well-being. However, CMI scores were reduced on only one of twelve organic scales and none of the behavior, mood and feeling scales. Neugarten's Life Satisfaction Index, Kenyon's Body Image scales, and McPherson's the Real Me scores remained unchanged, but there was a decrease of Manifest Anxiety (Taylor scale) and a greater regard of physical activity as "the relief of tension." When subjects were classed according to changes in aerobic power, between group differences were found for "Real Me" scores and for three of Kenyon's attitude scales. Persons who trained frequently and intensively showed improvements for body image and for five of Kenyon's attitude scales.