| Keywords |
Korean ; Chinese ; Japanese ; Functional fitness ; Elderly |
| Abstract |
We are undertaking the Research Project on Fitness of Asian Elderly Population with Chinese and Japan as well as Korean investigators to obtain a guideline for health-projecting and fitness-promoting measures for the elderly. The purpose of this study was to evaluate functional fitness (FF) of community-dwelling elderly among Korean, Chinese and Japanese. The subjects were 1951 (386 Koreans, 743 Chinese, and 822 Japanese) older people. Six performance test items related to FF were measured in Korea, China, and Japan by using same instruments. The data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA. Korean, Chinese and Japan males were not significantly different in balance except 65-69 yrs. Korea, China and Japan females were not significantly different in balance (over age 80) and strength (aged 60-64 yrs). But Japanese had significantly higher FF scores than both Korean and Chinese in elderly people, although the magnitude of this difference depended on the items. The data suggest that (1) advancing age significantly affects performance for almost all items in older people of three countries, (2) that the higher functional fitness levels may reflect a lifestyle of more engagement in exercise or physical activity with a longer duration and a higher frequency in Japanese. |