Abstract
This study examined the relationships between the physical fitness, physical characteristics, lifestyle, and social characteristics of elderly women living in rural areas. A questionnaire was used to assess the physical characteristics, lifestyles and social characteristics of 116 women aged 65 to 90 years old. The subjects performed six physical fitness tests (grip strength, leg extension, sit-and-reach, stepping, single leg stand with eyes open, and a 10 m walk). Through the summation of the z-scores of the six physical fitness tests, we created a physical fitness score (PFS) that assessed the physical fitness of each subject. According to this score, subjects were assigned to one of three groups: the "High physical fitness group", the "Moderate physical fitness group", or the "Low physical fitness group". An analysis of variance was used to assess the differences in continuous data, and a chi-square test was used to assess the differences in categorical data. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess the odds ratio and a 95% confidence interval. After adjusting for age, the logistic regression analysis showed that physical fitness in elderly women is related to physical characteristics (lower extremity pain and self-reported performance of stair-climbing and chair-rising), lifestyle (life satisfaction and exercise frequency) and social characteristics (frequency of going outdoors, and social networks).
