Relationships among Lifestyle, Motor Ability, Functional Capacity and Social Attributes in Old Age

Abstract

This study investigated the relationships among lifestyle, motor ability, functional capacity and social attributes based on data obtained from community dwelling elderly persons. The number of elderly men and women participating in the study was 221 (average age: 76.5 years). Haga's Quesionaire-22 was used as an indicator of lifestyle, with 22 points or higher (perfect score) indicating a healthy lifestyle. Information on 3 items of motor ability, 13 items of functional capacity and 5 items of social attributes was also obtained. The results of the analysis indicate that subjects with better lifestyle had higher average scores for motor ability and functional capacity than those with poor lifestyle. Lifestyle, motor ability, functional capacity, and physical condition were significantly correlated with each other. These results suggest that improvement of lifestyle in old age is considerably effective for preventing decline in functional capacity, motor ability and physical condition.