Determinants of functional health of older persons.

The study investigated relationships among demographics, self esteem, health locus of control, health promotion behaviors, perceived health and functional health ratings in 179 older men and women from 65 to 99 years. Canonical correlation and stepwise discriminant analyses demonstrated several meaningful and significant relationships suggesting that exercise and nutrition may be critical health promotion activities associated with better scores on five functional dimensions. The 85+ years age group differed from younger groups through having significantly higher reported exercise scores.