Senior Women's Fitness Project:

Abstract

To determine the special exercise needs of older, overweight women and the effects of gentle progressive exercise on physical fitness and psychological parameters, we recruited 30 sedentary women aged 60 to 72 years old to participate in an 11-week-long exercise study. The women were assigned to either a low-impact aerobic dance exercise class (N = 20) who exercised for 1 hour, 3 times a week, or a control group (N = 9) who received no exercise instruction. One hundred percent of the subjects completed the study. Fitness and psychological tests admitered pre- and postconditioning found significant decreases in diastolic blood pressure (c .001) and Beck Depression Inventory Scores (N < .05) for the exercise group as compared to the control group. Postconditioning interviews with exercise group women yielded perceptions that quality of life improved in the following areas: energy and sleep, flexibility, strength and mobility, heightened feelings of self-esteem and well-being, improvement in preexisting health conditions, enjoyment of socialization opportunities, and pleasurable feelings associated with accomplishment and motivation to continue to exercise. Five factors contributed to the success of the program: (I) indepth health screening, (2) exercise modification for chronic health conditions, (3) team teaching, (4) opportunities for socialization, and (5) education about health and fitness issues.