Motor Science Research Center, University School of Motor and Sport Science (SUISM), University of Torino, Italy.
Department of Psychology, University of Torino, Italy.
Gerontologist. 2014 Aug;54(4):611-23. doi: 10.1093/geront/gnt039. Epub 2013 May 15.
This study aims to investigate the effects of a walking program on aerobic endurance and function in a sample of sedentary elderly people.
For this study, 126 sedentary individuals were recruited: 63 individuals (mean age = 74.1±6.0 years) for the control group and 63 (mean age = 72.0±4.5 years) for the intervention group. The intervention consisted of walking training including balance exercises and lower limb strength activities twice a week for 4 months. We collected baseline and post-test measurements of aerobic endurance, lower limb strength, and mobility. We also measured aerobic endurance at increments of 4, 8, and 12 weeks between the baseline and the post-test. We used analyses of covariance with baseline value, gender, age, and body mass index scores as covariates (p < . 05) and calculated the effect size for the effects of the intervention. The changeover time of aerobic endurance was also analyzed with the repeated analysis of variance (p < .05).
The intervention group showed steady and significant improvements with respect to the 6-min walk (aerobic endurance) from 447.89 m (SD 73.87) to 561.51 m (SD 83.96), as well as the 30-s chair stand (lower limb strength) from 10 (SD 3) to 13 (SD 3) number of times and the Timed Up and Go Test (mobility) from 8.53 s (SD 2.86) to 7.13 s (SD 1.76) at the post-test, whereas the control group showed significant decrease in all measurements.
These results underline that an ecological walking training program can be used to improve physical functioning among sedentary elderly people.
本研究旨在调查步行方案对久坐老年人有氧耐力和功能的影响。
本研究共招募了 126 名久坐老年人：对照组 63 人（平均年龄=74.1±6.0 岁），干预组 63 人（平均年龄=72.0±4.5 岁）。干预措施包括每周两次的步行训练，包括平衡练习和下肢力量活动，持续 4 个月。我们收集了基线和测试后的有氧耐力、下肢力量和活动能力的测量值。我们还在基线和测试之间的 4、8 和 12 周时测量了有氧耐力的增量。我们使用协方差分析，以基线值、性别、年龄和体重指数分数为协变量（p<0.05），并计算干预效果的效应大小。有氧耐力的转换时间也用重复方差分析进行了分析（p<0.05）。
干预组在 6 分钟步行（有氧耐力）方面表现出稳定且显著的改善，从 447.89 米（SD73.87）增加到 561.51 米（SD83.96），30 秒坐立（下肢力量）从 10（SD3）增加到 13（SD3）次，以及计时起立行走测试（活动能力）从 8.53 秒（SD2.86）减少到 7.13 秒（SD1.76），而对照组在所有测量值上均出现显著下降。
这些结果强调了生态步行训练方案可以用于改善久坐老年人的身体功能。
