International comparison of the fitness in Asian elderly populations

2003 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary

• Project/Area Number: 14580071
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: 体育学
• Research Institution: Osaka University of Health and Sport Sciences
• Principal Investigator: KANEKO Masahiro Osaka University of Health and Sport Sciences, School of Physical Education, Professor, 体育学部, 教授 (00067232)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): KIMURA Misaka Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, School od Medicine, Professor, 医学部, 教授 (90150573) ; FUCHIMOTO Takafumi Osaka University of Health and Sport Sciences, School of Physical Education, Professor, 体育学部, 教授 (90133537)
• Project Period (FY): 2002 – 2003
• Keywords: elderly people / physical fitness / international comparison / living state / Asia

Research Abstract

Fitness tests are performed in elderly subjects living in East Asian countries and regions and information is exchanged to clarify the state of fitness and life-style of the elderly and to utilize the findings in planning policies and measures to protect and promote health and fitness of the elderly in each country or region. The body build (height, body weight, BMI) and fitness (grip strength, anterior flexion in the seated position with the legs extended, vertical jump, stepping, one-leg balancing with the eyes open and closed, shuttle walk test were measured in 2,362 people aged 60-91 years who lived at home in urban areas (Japan, Kyoto and Osaka ; China, Xi-an and Shang-hai ; Hong-Kong ; Korea, Soul). The state of health, state of daily living, state of human contact, emotional state (GDS-15), and degree of satisfaction with living as a whole were also investigated. Height, weight, BMI in the Japanese elderly were smaller than in the others. Concerning the fitness, the elderly of 4 countries showed clear age-related changes in each test item, and no difference was observed in the rate of age-related decreases in the results of each item among the four countries. However, the results of fitness tests in the same age levels were better in the Japanese elderly than in the other countries except that the results of one-leg balancing were comparable among four countries. The percentage of subjects who lived alone was higher in Japan than in China. A higher percentage of the Japanese subjects answered that they were "healthy", but a higher percentage of the Chinese subjects answered that they were "confident in their physical fitness" than the Japanese subjects. The differences in the body build and fitness, or factors that cause these differences, are considered to affect the mean life expectancies of the two countries.