Module 8, Physical Activity Across the Lifespan (aging) Flashcards
Aging Canadian Population
- persons over age 85 fastest growing segment in the population
- 12-fold increase in people aged 100 by 2050
- increased lifespan does not guarantee better quality of life
- serious risk of being in a state of morbidity
◦ being a state of not being healthy
Most Popular Physical Activities for Older Adults in Canada
- walking
- gardening
- home exercise
- swimming
- dancing
Aging and Physical Activity (barriers and motivators)
barriers:
* health problems
* fear of falling or injury
* lack of knowledge or confidence to exercise safely
* time constraints or competing priorities
* access difficulties
* apathy or fatigue
motivators:
* improve or maintain current health status/fitness (retain body function)
* social support (from other peers, friends, family members)
* social contact (like to do activities that involves contacts with others)
* well-designed programs and knowledgeable instructors
* purposeful or enjoyable activities
* appropriate music
Aging and Physical Activity: Ageism
ageism: discrimination against older adults because of their age
* predominantly negative attitude toward aging in north america (ageism)
◦ advertisements and such are often aimed at youth and trying to stay youthful (see aging as a bad thing)
Stereotypes
stereotypes: popularly held beliefs (which do not take into account individual differences) about a type of person or a group of people
Implicit priming
implicit priming: activates or reinforces belief without conscious awareness
* older adults are continously exposed to negative stereotypes through medial and social interactions (older people need to be safer, as portrayed in media, media are represented as being sick, fragile etc.) - it can unconsciously make older people feel they are weak, and cannot do the same things they were once able to do
Disidentification
disidentification: reconceptualizing self-image to remove values associated with a domain
* negative stereotyping may limit physical activity and create belief that aging associated with loss of physical and cognitive functioning (embody the negative stereotype and change their beliefs/values)
* many older adults perceive exercise as high-risk
older adults’ beliefs affect level of involvemen
Aging & Physical Activity: Determinants
demographic and biological factors (1)
- age and gender most consistent predictors (of physical activity in later life)
A. men are more active than women as age increases and participation declines (over time physical activity decreases with age, more in women though)
a. women are stereotyped to be frail and weak
Aging & Physical Activity: Determinants
demographic and biological factors (2)
- socioeconomic status (SES)
◦ social position and educational level are linked to lifelong physical activity
◦ higher SES: more likely to be physically active (having more access)
‣ linked to opportunities to knowledge? - cannot fully link the two but there are other factors that can also play in, such as gender and race
Aging & Physical Activity: Determinants (behavioural attributes)
behavioural attributes
1. small relationship between childhood physical activity & older adult physical activity (if you are active as a child, more likely to be active as an adult)
2. relationship between physical activity and some preventative health behaviours (e.g.,alcohol use) is not clear in older adults
Aging & Physical Activity: Determinants (social and cultural factors) - social
- social support by spouse, peers, & physician can affect levels of PA (support can go a long way in engaging in PA)
- exercise group members can influence physical activity
A. cohesive groups have better attendance & adherence rates (get along with people in the group and enjoy the members in the group)
B. exercise leaders influence quality of participant’s experience (poor instructor can break experience)
Aging & Physical Activity: Determinants (social and cultural factors) - culture
- cultural beliefs can shape involvement (what our culture tells us is acceptable, and what type of exercises are accepted)
- characterizations of women older adults as fragile or delicate particularly disadvantage women
Aging & Physical Activity: Determinants (physical environmental factors)
- 5-15% of older adults report environmental factors negatively affects participation
A. difficulties: getting to facilities, costs, unappealing activities, and inconvenient scheduling
B. we can change all of these: make more accessible facilities, ask them what kind of activities they want to do and decrease the costs for older adults
Aging & Physical Activity: Determinants (psychological, cognitive, and emotional factors)
- correlates of physical activity in adults
A. perceived control, expected benefits, knowledge of health & exercise, self-efficacy (these all will make us participate in PA more
B. most common:
a. enjoyment and perceived health and fitness
Successful Aging
rowe & kahn’s successful aging model suggests:
1. absence of chronic disease (relatively impossible to not have chronic illness and can live them)
2. maintenance of cognitive and physical functioning (some of our body functions change as well age, but that does not mean we cannot thrive)
3. active engagement with life-behavioural choice
A. greater physical activity involvement promotes likelihood of aging successfully (dose-response) - the more physically active you are the more you will age successfully
* there is a problem with this model because you can still thrive in presence of something like chronic disease, this model presents ageism, at some point you have to change the type of activities you participate in with age
