Cardiorespiratory fitness in the elderly: is there a difference in physical activity practitioners and non-practitioners?

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to verify the cardiorespiratory capacity in elderly practitioners and non-practitioners of systematic physical activity. METHODS: This is a descriptive, analytical and cross-sectional study. The sample consisted of 30 elderly women, female aged between 65 and 75 years independent, divided into practitioners and non-practitioners of physical exercise and the absence of participants during the period of data collection was defined as a criterion for exclusion from the research. As a collection instrument, a stationary gait test was used for cardiorespiratory assessment. The evaluator counts one step at a time, and only the steps in which the knee reaches the correct height at the midpoint between the patella and the anterior superior iliac spine will be computed. RESULTS: The descriptive analysis of gait cycles during the stationary gait test, obtained an average result of 43.40 ± 10.08 for individuals who did not exercise, with a body weight of 59.26 ± 10, 09kg. However, for individuals practicing physical exercise with a body weight of 69.73 ± 11.48kg, an average of 43.73 ± 9.29 complete cycles was obtained. CONCLUSION: The present study found that there was no difference in cardiorespiratory fitness in elderly practitioners and non-practitioners of physical exercise.