Topic > Essay on Physical Activity in Seniors - 681

Seniors who engage in regular physical activities can lead a healthier lifestyle. Continuous exercise in older adults can promote healthy aging, improve physical capacity, and sometimes prevent certain diseases. However, variables related to lack of physical activity in older adults are not well studied. The aim of the article “Perceived socio-cognitive and environmental influences associated with physical activity in older Australians” is to identify socio-cognitive and environmental factors linked to physical activity in older adults. This article review will discuss the methods, results, discussion, and a conclusion of the selected article. Methods The study design was created by the researchers themselves and was evaluated using two logistic regression models, which were used to identify predictors of physical activity. A total of 449 subjects were included in the study (Booth, et al, 2000). Subjects were randomly selected and were aged 60 years or older. Researchers assessed self-reported physical activity and a wide range of self-perceived social-cognitive and environmental factors (Booth, et al, 2000). Participants were classified as sufficiently active or inactive based on self-reported energy estimates of their weekly physical activities (Booth, et al, 2000). Several variables were measured including: sociodemographic measures, attitudes, environmental measures, self-efficacy, reinforcement, social modeling, and participation in physical activity (Booth, et al, 2000). Results The study results demonstrated a strong positive connection between social-cognitive function and environmental factors with exercise in older adults. Researchers find that the central part of the paper works. This article is valuable because it demonstrates how older adults' environments and their social-cognitive status can influence their ability to exercise. I would recommend this article to other students and have learned from this article that older adults with greater access to exercise equipment and who have the emotional support of family and friends will pursue a more active lifestyle. In the future, further research will be needed to address the limitations of this study by allowing for a larger sample size. It would also be helpful to change where the study is performed; this could produce a larger sample size giving us a more in-depth analysis. It would also be useful to add the socioeconomic status variable to this study, as older adults who have fewer financial resources may have fewer opportunities to lead physically active lives.