Abstract
This study aimed to examine differences among age-levels of physique and physical fitness in Korean elderly men. The subjects were 1665 independent-living older adults aged 65 years or older (73.4±5.6 yr, 165±6.1 cm, 64.9±9.2 kg) who participated in a national physical fitness test. They took grip strength, 30-sec chair stand (CS-30), trunk-flexion, figure-of-8 walk, and 6-min walk tests. Age showed significant correlations with all physical fitness tests(|r|=0.19〜0.45), being moderate values (|r|=0.45, 0.40) with figure-of-8 walk, and 6-min walk tests. After subjects were classified into five groups by 5 years old, differences among groups were examined. All tests showed significant differences among age groups. Height and weight were lower in the groups of men aged 70 and over than in the group of 65-69-year-olds. The performance of the men aged 75 and over in the figure-of-8 walk, grip strength, and trunk-flexion tests were inferior to that of those in the under-75 groups. The results of the groups of subjects aged 80 and above in the 6-min walk test were inferior to the results of those in the groups of under-80. CS-30 showed a decrease with age. In conclusion, significant age-related differences are found in all physique and physical fitness tests, and the decreases with age in walking ability and leg strength are particularly marked.
