Effects of Aging and Exercise on the Cardiorespiratory Fitness of Older Women

Abstract

Purpose:

The present study analyzed the effects of chronological aging and the practice of regular exercise (PRE) on the cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) of older women.

Methods:

A descriptive study of 78 participants was performed, with longitudinal design and an initial evaluation in 2005 and a second in 2011. The PRE defined groups as Inactive (I), Insufficiently-Active (IA), and Sufficiently-Active (SA). The six-minute walking test measured CRF. MANOVA with repeated-measures was used to verify the effect of time and the PRE groups on CRF (p<0.05).

Results:

The participants were classified as having a low socioeconomic level and being overweight. MANOVA demonstrated the effect of time (F_1.74=30.134; p<0.05) and groups (F_2.74=3.729; p<0.05), without interaction (F_2.74=0.811; p>0.05). Post hoc analysis indicated that the effect of time was significant between all groups (I: t=3.786, p<0.05; IA: t=2.597, p<0.05; SA: t=3.191, p<0.05); and the group effect was significant only between the I and SA groups in the second evaluation (First evaluation: F_2.76=1.712; p>0.05; Second Evaluation: F_2.77=3.239; p<0.05, post hoc Tukey: group I vs AS =p<0.05). A smaller reduction in CRF was found in the SA group (8.0%), followed by the IA (10.3%) and I (14.3%) groups.

Conclusion:

The results of the present study indicated that elderly women who practice exercise regularly had a smaller reduction in CRF than those who were inactive. This suggests that the PRE at recommended levels for health purposes can attenuate the effect of aging on the CRF.

Key words:
aging; cardiorespiratory fitness; women; physical exercise