Safety evaluation in the use of fitness equipment by the elderly

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the safety of elders during the use of fitness equipment. Ninety subjects were interviewed, 64 women (71.11%) and 26 men (28.89%). Data were collected through a questionnaire. Answers were treated with frequency analysis and then compared by Qui-squared test (a = 0.05), allowing to conclude that fitness practice’s primary goal was to improve health conditions (60.83%), and hydro-gymnastics was the second activity that most interested subjects (80.00%). Among the subjects, 54.44% reported some difficulty to use equipments, particularly treadmill, leg press, extensor chair, machine chest press and pulley. Despite that, subjects were familiarized with equipments, and 87.78% of them declared feeling safe or completely safe using the machines and expressing no need for human help or any object support during the entry, execution or exit of all machines. Among the most recurrent health conditions, articulation conditions and diverse (cardiovascular, respiratory and diabetes) showed the highest frequency (34.86% and 38.53%, respectively). Results did not keep correspondence with the observed behavior, and this bias may express the personal teacher-student relation, defining answers that protected the physical education professor.

evaluation studies; equipment safety; equipment and supplies /utilization; motor activity; aged