Effects of physical activity in older adults with frailty

Abstract

 In Japan, owing to the increasingly aging society, the onset of frailty, which is increased vulnerability to stressors and is likely to have adverse health outcomes in old age, is a major concern. Increasing the amount of physical activity is a useful method of preventing frailty in older adults. In general, bodily movements are associated with exercise; however, activities performed at home（e.g., housework and taking care of children or pets）are also classified as physical activities. Therefore, it is important to determine an individual’s role at home and accordingly create opportunities for performing bodily movements within the range of that role. It has also been reported that using pedometers helps increase the number of steps taken per day and may be important to self-track one’s activities. Moreover, hobbies such as gardening help pleasantly perform bodily movements and are approximately equal to 3-6 metabolic equivalents. By engaging in hobbies, it is easy to ensure the necessary intensity and duration of physical activity; thus, this is a useful method of preventing frailty.