[Assessment of functional fitness through the set of AAHPERD tests in women after menopause: Is there a decline between the fifth and sixth decades of life?]

Abstract

Purpose: to analize the level of functional fitness of a group of postmenopausal women in the city of Presidente Prudente using the set of functional fitness tests of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance and to check whether there are differences between groups of women in the fifth and sixth decade of life.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted on 175 postmenopausal women (follicle stimulating hormone level>26.72 mIU/L) in the city of Presidente Prudente in 2013. The inclusion criteria were not being part of any type of systematic motor intervention for at least six months before the collection of research data; absence of motor or cognitive impairment that would prevent the evaluation protocols, and absence of chronic or degenerative disease, musculoskeletal injury or comorbidity that could prevent or limit the evaluations. The women were evaluated by the same trained examiners. The 50 to 59 year group showed a mean age of 55.3 ± 4.5 years, mean FSH values of 53.5 ± 21.1 mIU/mL, mean coordination of 11.4 ± 2.2 seconds, mean strength of 20.1 ± 3.9 repetitions, mean flexibility of 51.7 ± 11.8 cm, mean 23.2 ± 2.8 seconds agility and mean aerobic resistance of 500 ± 43/2. The 60 to 69 year group had a mean age of 65.1 ± 4.1 years with FSH 54.9 ± 15.9, 11.6 ± 2.6 seconds coordination, strength 20.3 ± 4.7 repetitions, 54.6 ± 11.2 cm flexibility, agility 24.7 ± 4.3 seconds, and aerobic resistance of 508 ± 51 seconds.

Conclusion: It was possible to analyze the functional fitness of postmenopausal women through the set of the American Alliance testing for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance with no significant differences between groups for the variables strength, flexibility, aerobic capacity and coordination, and with only the speed variable showing significant differences. We recommend further studies seeking to formulate normative values for the population in question.