Investigating functional fitness of older adults in Korea in the period 2013-2018

Background: The purpose of this study is two-fold: (a) to examine differences in the body compositions and the functional fitness tests across genders, age groups, and the test periods; and (b) to develop the functional fitness standards for older Korean adults.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study using data from the Korea Institute of Sport Science Fitness Standards. The data were derived from 155,256 old adults aged 65-90 who participated in the National Fitness Award Project from 2013 to 2018 in Korea. A series of t8 test, ANOVA, and Cajori’s 5-grade method were used to analyze the data.

Results: The group comparison tests revealed significant differences in the body compositions and the fitness tests across genders (p < .001 for all items), five age groups (p < .001 for all items), and two test periods (p < .001 for all items, except for sit-reach [p = .138] in males and body mass index [p = .258] and grip strength [p = .130] in females). The study also proposed the guidelines for the functional fitness standards for this population.

Conclusions: This study would provide useful information to practitioners to design more effective physical activity programs or interventions for people at-risk of declining health, thus improving health conditions of the older adults in Korea.