The Effects of Using Park Fitness Equipment on Senior Fitness: A Preliminary Study
Date Issued
2015
Date
2015
Author(s)
Li, Chi-Sheng
Abstract
Deteriorating physical conditions and suffering from chronic diseases result in the elderly having a significant decline in physical activity, so that the elderly may be unable to take care of themselves. In order to maintain body functions, the elderly often use the park fitness equipments, such as Air Walker and Ski Walker which use the leg muscles, and Shoulder Wheel which increases the flexibility of the arm. The elderly use these equipments has some effect on muscular fitness, aerobic endurance, flexibility, agility. However, few studies found the benefit of the park fitness equipment and few indicates those equipments have the true physical effect. In addition, only interpretive panels guide someone how to use the park fitness equipments, but under the incomprehensible case of the elderly may use equipments by self-interpretation and result in physical injury. Therefore, the purpose of the study is to understand the behavior of using the park fitness equipments, and to identify the effect of those behaviors on functional fitness, and to know how to facilitate the elderly using park fitness equipments or to figure out potential injury from the view of the elderly. The participants of this study are 65 to 84 years old, and divided into regular users and non-users. Each of the group is thirty people. Regular user means that the elderly use park fitness equipments at least six months, over three times per week, and more than thirty minutes each time. Non-users are almost not to use park fitness equipments at the past six months. The mode of data collection, respondents were asked to test seven items of Senior Fitness Test, and then surveyed the behavior and some opinions of using the park fitness equipments. Consideration of gender, age, self-rated health and physical activity are likely to affect the functional fitness. At gender and age adopt a control that assigned a ratio of equality between two group. Self-rated health and physical activity is through ANCOVA controlling their influence of functional fitness. The results show that the performance between regular users and non-users is not significant differences in seven items of Senior Fitness Test,including 30-second arm curl test, 30-second chair stand, 2-minute step test, back scratch test, chair sit-and-reach test, 8-foot up-and-go test, and body mass index. On the behavior of useing park fitness equipments, regular users is about using the park fitness equipments with five times per week; the average time of each times is about forty-eight minutes; the popular equipment is Arm Stretch. The most purpose of using park fitness equipments is for promoting physical activity and health. Most of the users use park fitness equipments alone, and like to have shade and scenic environment. Those users are almost agree that use park fitness equipments is no problem. At the part of watching interpretive panels, some of non-watching people mentionsed that they can’t see clearly with their poor eyesight, and some of them thought equipments is easy to use.The reason of non-users didn’t use park fitness equipments is including not interested, too many people use, and so on.
Subjects
the elderly
green space
outdoor fitness equipment
functional fitness
Senior Fitness Test
Type
thesis
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