General functional fitness and body mass index of elderly women engaged in physical activity

Abstract

The aim of the study was to verify the relationship between the General Functional Fitness Index (GFFI) and the Body Mass Index (BMI) of elderly women engaged in physical activity. The sample consisted of 52 elderly women, with mean age of 68.62 years (s.d. =4.98 yrs) engaged in physical activity for at least 6 months. To test functional fi tness, the battery of tests of American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation & Dance (AAHPERD) for the elderly was applied. Body mass and stature were measured with an electronic scale and stadiometer, allowing for body mass index (IMC) computation. The results were compared with AAHPERD normative values for elderly women aged 60 to 79 years. Data analyses were performed using descriptive statistics, the Qui-square test, Fisher’s Exact test and binary logistic regression, with a level of significance of p<0.05. It was observed a tendency of 42.9% elderly women with good GFFI to have normal BMI and of 95.6% of those with low GFFI to be overweight. It was shown that overweight women presented a greater risk, approximately 16 times, for having low GFFI in relation to those with normal BMI. It was concluded that there is an inverse relationship between BMI and GFFI, so that those with overweight elderly women are at a greater risk for low GFFI. Therefore, our results reinforce the importance of using strategies to control overweight and to maintain good levels of physical fi tness of the elderly population.