 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
WenYen Juan, PhD, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, 3101 Park Center Drive, room 1034, Alexandria, VA 22302, 703-605-4437, wenyen.juan@cnpp.usda.gov
Many elderly are unaware that physical activity promotes psychological health and remain inactive. Self-perceived health and quality of life measurements have been used to predict health status. This study examines the associations between the levels of physical activity, self-perceived health status, and quality of life measurements. The quality of life measurements include feeling stressed, depressed, rested, and healthy. Weighted data are analyzed using SAS and SUDAAN from the 2000 Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System. Older adult women aged 50 or older (n=22,547) are categorized into four age groups: group 1, age 50-59 (44%); group 2, age 60-69 (28%); group 3, age 70-79 (20%); and group 4, age 80 or older (8%). Results show that regular and vigorous physically active women are about twofold more likely to perceive themselves in excellent health than their physically inactive or irregular counterparts among all groups (p<0.05). Group 2 women who are physically inactive or irregular are more likely to report feeling depressed than those who are physically active or vigorous, whereas group 3 women who are physically inactive or irregular are about 1.5 times more likely to report feeling not rested enough than their counterparts (p<0.05). However, group 2 and 3 women who are physically inactive or irregular are more likely to report feeling healthy than those who are physically regular or vigorous active (p<0.05). Findings suggest that self-perceived health status is associated with increased physical activity levels, while quality of life measurements are less associated with physical activity levels among this population.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Elderly, Quality of Life
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.