英文摘要 |
The aim of this study was to assess the level physical activity and the prevalence of sarcopenia and frailty in a group of community-dwelling elderly adults who participated in an eight-week exercise program. In addition, the study examined the effectiveness on functional fitness of the participants after the eight-week intervention of multicomponent exercises program (MCEP). This research adopted one-group pretest-posttest design, and the course was performed once a week while the MCEP lasted for eight consecutive weeks. A paired-sample t-test was conducted to analyze the improvement on the elderly’s functional fitness four weeks after MCEP was completed. The results of the study showed that the proportionality of high-risk group of sarcopenia and frailty were 15.8% and 26.3%, respectively, and they were associated with the lack of physical activities and the number of people suffering from chronic diseases. In addition, the participants had significant improvements in the performances of chair stand, arm curl, chair sit-and-reach, dynamic equilibrium, and 8-foot up-and-go tests after the MCEP. However, the performances of back scratch, static balance, and 2-min step tests did not have significant changes, which may be associated with the lack of strength and duration of upper limb flexibility, balance training and aerobic exercise. The research concluded that an eight-week MCEP was effective in encouraging elderly adults to exercise regularly, though the probability of autonomous physical exercise after returning home was low for the physically frail adults. The intervention of this exercise program can serve as a reference for health prevention and promotion in communities. |