Counseling Increases Physical Activity In Older Adults
By Richard Shank
In recent years, health researchers have stressed the important role that everyday behaviors and lifestyle play in Aging Well. As a result, evidence-based programs that have proven capable of changing older adults’ dietary and physical fitness habits are increasingly in demand.
New research from the University of Jyvaskyla in Finland provides support for programs that use physical activity counseling to enhance the physical fitness of older adult clients. In a study of 632 people, ages 75 to 81, half of the individuals in the study received individually tailored physical activity counseling from a trained physiotherapist, which was supplemented by telephone consultations over a two-year period. The individuals who participated in counseling were significantly more likely to increase their physical activity, which in turn decreased their mobility problems.
These results replicate research in the United States that found similar behavioral counseling programs beneficial to older adults. This research stresses the importance of multidimensional programs that provide diverse methods of physical training (e.g. endurance, strength, balance, and flexibility), include social support resources, enhance self-efficacy, manage health risks associated with physical exercise, and monitor aerobic and physical performance.
The importance of physical activity for older adults’ quality of life cannot be overstated. Sedentary lifestyle patterns create a slippery slope with regard to physical fitness, mobility, health, and the experience of chronic disability.
Studies such as this one promote the idea that successful programs can motivate older adults to change their physical activity habits and improve their quality of life.
To see an overview of this research, visit:
http://hmcrc.srph.tamhsc.edu/Literature/PhysicalActivity/PABehaviorCounseling.pdf
Source: University of Jyvaskyla press release. May 2009
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