Relationship between Motive for Exercise, Physical Activity, and Basic Physical Fitness in the Elderly

Abstract

This study was conducted to clarify the relationship between the motive for exercise and physical activity, and the relationship between the motive and basic physical fitness in the elderly. The subjects were 110 residents in two types of nursing home. They measured the newly developed exercise motive scale for the elderly, daytime step rate, grip strength, leg strength, and vital capacity. Scores of the exercise motive scale for the elderly significantly related to daytime step rate, grip strength, leg strength, and vital capacity, respectively, excluding the effects of age, gender, height, and weight by the multiple regression analysis. It was suggested that the exercise motive contributed to the level of physical exercise in the elderly people. The stimulation of motive for exercise is encouraged in the elderly people for their health promotion.