| Keywords |
Hemipleagia ; Physical fitness level ; Body composition |
| Abstract |
To investigate the physical fitness levels and body composition in elderly hemipleagia patients, 22 men (71+_ 8 yrs, 160+_ 6 cm, and 60+_ 8 kg) and 35 women (73+_ 7 yrs, 148+_ 6 cm, and 55+_ 8 kg) were recruited from the community indwelling residents. They were tested for physical fitness variables including muscular endurance: armcurl and 30-second-chair-stand, flexibility: chair-sit-and-reach and back-scratch, cardiorepiratory endurance (2-minutestep), reaction time, and agility: lay-down-and-stand, as well as body compositions. No differences were found between hemiplegic men and women in all the fitness parameters. While the muscular strength, agility, and cardiorespiratory endurance were reduced in men, flexibility and cardiorepiratory endurance were decreased in women compared to normal age-matched counterparts (p<.05). Body fat contents were significantly less in hemiplegic men compared to the women (p<.05). But those body fat contents in both sexes were comparable to the normal age-matched counterparts. Based on the results, a reduction of selective fitness level in both hemiplegic elderly appeared to be a decrement of daily physical activities. Nevertheless, body composition has not changed compared to the normal elderly population. |