Impact of habitual physical activity and type of exercise on physical performance across ages in community-living people

Abstract

The maintenance of muscle function into late life protects against various negative health outcomes. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the impact of habitual physical activity and exercise types on physical performance across ages in community-living adults. The Longevity check-up 7+ (Lookup 7+) project is an ongoing cross-sectional survey conducted in unconventional settings (e.g., exhibitions, malls, and health promotion campaigns across Italy) that began on June 1st 2015. The project was designed to raise awareness in the general population on major lifestyle behaviors and risk factors for chronic diseases. Candidate participants are eligible for enrolment if they are at least 18 years of age and provide written informed consent. Physical performance is evaluated through the 5-repetition chair stand test. Analyses were conducted in 6,242 community-living adults enrolled between June 1st 2015 and June 30th 2017, after excluding 81 participants for missing values of the variables of interest. The mean age of the 6,242 participants was 54.4 years (standard deviation 15.2, range 18-98 years), and 3552 (57%) were women. The time to complete the chair stand test was similar from 18 to 40-44 years, and declined progressively across subsequent age groups. Overall, the performance on the chair stand test was better in physically active participants, who completed the test with a mean of 0.5 s less than sedentary enrollees (p < .001). After adjusting for potential confounders, a different distribution of physical performance across exercise intensities was observed, with better performance being recorded in participants engaged in more vigorous activities. Our findings suggest that regular physical activity modifies the age-related pattern of decline in physical performance, with greater benefits observed for more intensive activities. Efforts are needed from health authorities and healthcare providers to promote the large-scale adoption of an active lifestyle throughout the life course.

Fig 1. Time to complete the chair stand test (s) according to physical activity status and adjusted for age, gender, smoking habit, healthy diet, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, and total blood cholesterol.

Physical performance, as assessed by the chair stand test, was comparable between sedentary participants and those practicing leisure walking only. The time taken to complete the test was shorter across increasing activity intensities, from aerobic training to combination of aerobic and resistance exercise. Walking vs. sedentary group, p = ns; aerobic activity vs. sedentary and walking group, p < .0001 (*); resistance activity vs. sedentary and walking group, p < .001 (*); resistance versus aerobic activity, p = .01 (#); combination of aerobic and resistance activity vs. sedentary and walking group, p < .001 (*).

Fig 2. Time to complete the chair stand test (s) according to age groups and physical activity status.

Physical performance, as assessed by the chair stand test, was similar from 18 to 40–44 years, and declined thereafter. Physically active participants showed better performance than sedentary people. Active 80+ participants showed the same performance of sedentary 65-year-old persons.

Fig 3. Time to complete the chair stand test (s) according to different types of physical activity and age groups.

The age-dependent decline in physical performance was similar between sedentary participants and those practicing only leisure walking. The rate of decline was significantly attenuated in participants engaged in aerobic or resistance training Ultra-octogenarians practicing resistance training performed similar to 50-54-year-old participants.