Document Type : Original Article (s)
Authors
1
Lecturer, Department of Sport Injuries, School of Exercise Sciences, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran
2
Associate Professor, Department of Sport Injuries, School of Exercise Sciences, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran
3
Assistant Professor, Department of Sport Injuries, School of Exercise Sciences, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran
Abstract
Background: Determination of biological age is a crucial challenge in gerontology. We studied the profile of variations in physical fitness factors in three groups of active, moderately active, and inactive Iranian women. Finally, a formula was produced to estimate biological age of women based on their physical fitness measures. Methods: This ex-post facto research was conducted in 2010. After signing informed consent forms, 107 women from Isfahan (Iran) were selected by purposeful stratified sampling. The subjects aged 18-65 years old and were categorized into age groups of 18-20, 21-25, 26-30, 31-35, 36-40, 41-45, 46-50, 51-55, 56-60, and 61-65 years old. From about 50 women who were asked to participate in each age group, at least 10 volunteers were evaluated. Physical fitness tests included vertical jump, modified pull-ups, sit and reach, Illinois agility test, 30-meter run, 20-meter shuttle run, sit-ups, and medicine ball throw. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS16. Findings: Discriminant analysis revealed that 64% of physical fitness level was explained by physical activity level (P ≤ 0.01). Multiple regression analysis showed that chronological age had an inverse relationship with physical fitness factors. However, the rate of physical fitness reduction of subjects depended on their sporting activity level, i.e. higher sporting activity was associated with lower rate of physical fitness reduction. Conclusion: Similar to reports from developed countries, this study indicated that physical activity had positive effects on biological age. However, our subjects had lower levels of physical fitness. This study also provided a good opportunity to produce an equation to estimate biological age of Iranian women. Our findings are alarming, especially when considering aerobic fitness. This study could be more reliable, if the same data were collected from other provinces of the country. Keywords: Biological age, Physical fitness factors, Estimation of biological age
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