LEVEL OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND ASSOCIATION WITH QUALITY OF LIFE IN OLDER ADULTS

Abstract

Introduction: Physical activity is the movement of the body that results in energy expenditure. In daily life, it can be characterized into sports, conditioning, household work, or any other activities. There is a linear relationship between physical activity and health status; therefore, increasing level of physical activity has great impact on quality of life especially in older population.

Material & Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted on a sample of 151 participants between age group of 60 to 80 years, including both male and female participants. Individuals with any mental and physical disability, history of trauma or any balance problems were excluded. Informed consent was obtained and the data was collected over a period of 6 months from Jan uary 2018 to July 2018. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short Form (IPAQ-SF) and Older People Quality of Life Brief Questionnaire (OPQOL-Brief) were used to determine the levels of physical activity and quality of life, respectively.

Results: Results revealed that the frequency of correspondents with low level of physical activity were 82 (54.3%), with moderate level of physical activity were 24(15.9%) and with vigorous level of physical activity were 45(29.8%). Pearson correlation coefficient R-value of 0.407 and a P value of <0.001 indicated that a moderate correlation existed between the two quantitative variables of physical activity and quality of life.

Conclusion: In conclusion, the participants with low level of physical activity were the highest in number as compared to moderate and vigorous activity. Lower levels of activity among the participants resulted in poor quality of life.