On the Effect of Physical Conditioning in Older Age

Abstract

As the average life span is extended through the progress of medicine and the population of the aged is increasing, inconveniences in daily living in the aged due to the decrease in the body strength and increase in geriatic diseases is more pronounced than ever. Countermeasures for its prevention are acutely needed. In the present study, the effects of exercise in the aged were examined in two nursing homes. Thirty-four aged subjects in a nursing home at Tachikawa, Tokyo, were exercised for 5 years from April 1965. Twelve aged subjects in a nursing home at Odate, Akita, were exercised for 3 years from April 1967. Subjective symptoms, tests for joint mobility, and clinical findings were studied. The following results were obtained : 1. Exercise made daily activity easier snbjectively at each of the two homes. Results of yearly cxaminations revealed improvement of daily activity despite aging. 2. In both homes, the exercise group had better joint motility than the control group. The effect appeared soon after the beginning of exercise and did not fall during 3 years of observation period. 3. Continuous observation on clinical findings, especially blood pressure, showed that exercise in the aged exerted a favorable influence on the circulatory system.