The Effect of Tracer Along with Physical Activity on Cardiovascular Endurance and Body Composition of Sedentary Elderly

The role of physical activity on mental and physical health is important in the promotion and development of elderly people. One of the motivational tools for physical activity is activity trackers that assess the physical-physiological function of the elderly and can motivate the exercise through feedback given to the elderly. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of tracer along with physical activity on cardiovascular endurance and body composition of sedentary elderly.

Participants were 45 sedentary adults over 60 years of age who were accommodated in a nursing home. International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), Physical Activity Preparation Questionnaire (PAR-Q) and Practice Motivation Inventory (EMI-2) were used to select the subjects. Subjects were divided to three groups of 15 people (two experimental and one control group); experimental group one included 15 people who used the activity tracker and also did physical activity; and experimental group two included 15 people who only did physical activity; and the control group consisted of 15 people who did not use activity trackers or physical activity and followed daily life according to the normal schedule of the nursing home. All participants took the rockport test and the body composition test (body mass index) in the first, sixth and twelfth week. The exercise protocol lasted 12 weeks and three sessions per week, with a total of 36 sessions. For data analysis, ANOVA test was used for repeated measures, and for the comparison of the mean of the groups, the minimum post-hoc test was Fisher’s significant difference and a significant level of 0.05 was considered.

The findings of the study showed a significant difference between the experimental and control groups in cardiovascular endurance and did not show a significant difference between the experimental and control groups in body composition (P≤ 0.05).

The results of this study show that the use of tracker stimulates physical activity in sedentary elderly and improve their cardiovascular endurance but 12 weeks training is not sufficient for significant change in body composition variable. The results of the present study can be a guide for those who deal with the elderly to be able to design appropriate exercise programs for the elderly so that they can make the right decisions in planning and treating disorders related to the last decades of life. Researchers can achieve other results for the future by manipulating variables as well as the timing and type of practice and changing motivational tools.