A recent study has identified the kinds of exercise that older adults choose.
As part of the studies, more than 1500 participants between ages 70 and 77 were randomly assigned to one of two exercise groups or a control group. The participants in the two exercise groups undertook moderate or high-intensity training sessions twice a week, mostly on their own.
Participants were asked to fill out exercise logs documenting how long their workouts lasted, how hard they exercised, what activities they performed, where they exercised, and whether they were training alone or with someone.
The research, published in the journal of BMC Geriatrics, included data from the exercise logs of 618 participants in the two Generation 100 exercise groups.
Walking was the most popular form of activity in both the moderate and high-intensity training groups. In the moderate intensity group, walking represented more than half of the training that people undertook.
All the participants preferred training outdoors both in summer and in winter. Altogether, they did almost two-thirds of their workouts outside or in their own neighborhood.
One of the differences between older women and men is exercise intensity. Men tend to train with greater intensity, and a higher proportion of their workouts included jogging, cycling, and cross-country skiing. Women were more likely to choose dance and walking as activities.
The results also suggested that older adults with memory loss and less education have a greater likelihood of quitting a training programme, according to the results from Generation 100. (ANI)
