scholarly journals Growing Minds: Evaluating the Effect of Gardening on Quality of Life and Physical Activity Level of Older Adults

2010 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 705-710 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aime J. Sommerfeld ◽  
Tina M. Waliczek ◽  
Jayne M. Zajicek

A questionnaire based on the Life Satisfaction Inventory A (LSIA) was used to investigate older adult (age 50+ years) gardeners' and nongardeners' perceptions of personal life satisfaction and levels of physical activity. The LSIA measures five components of quality of life: “zest for life,” “resolution and fortitude,” “congruence between desired and achieved goals,” “physical, psychological, and social self-concept,” and “optimism.” Additional multiple-choice questions were asked to determine respondents' level of physical activity, perceptions of overall health and well-being as well as to gather demographic information. The survey was posted on a university homepage for ≈1 month. Responses were gathered from 298 participants who differentiated themselves as gardeners or nongardeners by responding positively or negatively to the question “do you garden?” Results indicated statistically significant differences in comparisons of overall life satisfaction scores with gardeners receiving higher mean scores indicating more positive results on the LSIA. Four individual quality-of-life statements included in the LSIA yielded statistically significantly more positive answers by gardeners when compared with nongardeners. Other questions regarding healthful practices revealed that personal reports of physical activity and perceptions of personal health were statistically significantly more positive among gardeners when compared with nongardeners.

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 281-287
Author(s):  
Amal A. Kokandi ◽  
Jafar Salman Alkhalaf ◽  
Asmaa Mohammedsaleh

Physical activity is known to have benefits on health and well-being. The aim of this study was to assess the quality of life domains (using WHOQOL-Bref) in relation to the level of physical activity in young healthy adults at Saudi Arabia. An online questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF and IPAQ) was sent to adults without special needs in Saudi Arabia aged 18 years and more. In total 1026 completed the questionnaire. Females were 767 and males were 250 (9 were missing). Results of this study showed that IPAQ total score was significantly correlated with WHOQOL-BREF physical, psychological and social relationships health scores. Additionally, the high PA group had a significantly higher WHOQOL-BREF for all domains (physical, psychological, social relationships and environmental health scores) compared to the low PA group. Male subjects had a significantly higher physical health score than female subjects, however, female subjects had a significantly higher social relationships score. In conclusion, high physical activity is linked with high better quality of life in all domains.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. a12en
Author(s):  
Jeferson Bertolini ◽  
Carmen Rial

This article presents the results of a study with supermarket customers and fitness center users. The research shows that the daily life of these individuals (here called "the public") contemplates elements of the mediatic discourse about health and well-being. In the perspective of this study, this discourse is compatible with biopower, the power technique that seeks to create economically active bodies. The work uses participant observation. It was carried out in Santa Catarina, State recognized by the indices of human development and quality of life. The manuscript concludes that among the public, elements of the mediatic discourse appear in daily practices that result in an efficient body, or body conomically active.


2017 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lesego M. Ramocha ◽  
Quinette A. Louw ◽  
Muziwakhe D. Tshabalala

Background: The environment of older adults plays an important role in their well-being. It influences their quality of life and physical activity level. In South Africa, there is a dearth of literature concerning this issue.Methods: An analytic cross-sectional sample of 80 older adults living in old age homes and the community was compared in terms of level of physical activity and quality of life. The study was conducted in Soweto, Johannesburg. A computer-generated random sample of older adults aged 60 years and above participated. The Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE) and RAND 36 questionnaires were used for data collection. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the sample. Unpaired t-tests, Pearson’s correlation coefficient and chi-squared test explored the differences and associations between institutionalised and community living older adults.Results: Quality of life in old age home dwellers (M = 68.53 ± 19.55) was significantly lower (p = 0.025) than in community dwellers (M = 77.74 ± 16.25). The mean physical activity score was also significantly (p = 0.000) lower in old age home dwellers (M = 20.18 ± 24.52) compared with community dwellers (M = 190.31 ± 82.81).Conclusion: Older adults who live in the community have a higher quality of life and physical activity levels compared with those who live in institutions (old age homes).


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elgloria Harrison ◽  
Lillie Monroe-Lord ◽  
Andrew D. Carson ◽  
Anne Marie Jean-Baptiste ◽  
Janet Phoenix ◽  
...  

Abstract Background COVID-19 has taken its toll on citizens in all 50 states of the United States. The United States (U.S.) leads the world with 30,291,863 confirmed reported cases and 549,664 deaths as of March 29, 2021 compared to globally confirmed cases at 127,442,926 and 2,787,915 deaths as of March 29, 2021. The U.S. federal government primarily left the response to the virus to individual states, and each implemented varying measures designed to protect health of citizens and the state’s economic well-being. Unintended consequences of the virus and measures to stop its spread may include decreased physical activity and exercise, shifting access and consumption of food, and lower quality-of-life. Therefore, our primary goal was to quantify the impact of COVID-19 on health and well-being by measuring changes in physical activity, mental health-quality of life, food security and nutrition in adults ages 40 and older. We believed shifts in health behaviors would be more prevalent in minorities, less educated, lower socio-economic status, older adults, and those with underlying health conditions, so a secondary goal was to determine the impact of COVID-19 on these sub-populations. Methods We conducted an online survey with 9969 adults 40 years and older between 9 August and 15 September 2020 in urban areas across the four U.S. census regions. The survey included questions about demographic variables, pre-existing health conditions, physical activity, access to food, quality-of-life, and nutritional food status and asked participants to respond with information from pre-pandemic and pandemic conditions. We used paired-sample t-tests to detect changes in variables after the start of the pandemic and Cohen’s d to determine effect sizes. Results Our main findings showed a decrease in physical activity since the onset of COVID-19 for minorities and non-minorities. Food security also slightly increased for minorities during the pandemic, but we found no other changes in food security, quality-of-life indicators, or nutritional status of those who responded to this survey. Conclusions It is concerning that physical activity declined. Such activity helps maintain physical and mental health, and it is also an important time to socialize for many older adults. In many ways, our data indicate that the older adult population in U.S. cities may be more resilient than expected during the pandemic. However, the pandemic could have negative impacts that we did not detect, either due to the survey instrument or the timing of our survey, so the health and well-being of older adults should continue to be monitored in order to mitigate potential negative impacts.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 8157
Author(s):  
Olga Molinero ◽  
Alfonso Salguero ◽  
Sara Márquez

Osteoarticular diseases are one of the effects of aging, and they are related to physical, psychological, and social functions. Physical activity seems to slow the start and progression of these kinds of illnesses and presents benefits for psychosocial health. The main aim of the study was to investigate the possible effect of physical activity level (Yale Physical Activity Survey) on quality of life (SF-36 Health Questionnaire), subjective psychological well-being (Psychological Well-being Scale), and depression levels (Geriatric Depression Scale), depending on osteoarticular illness. The sample consisted of 263 Spanish adults aged 65 to 98 years who had high or low physical activity (assessed by YPAS Questionnaire) and osteoarticular disease. Results show that physical activity influences the perceived quality of life, depression levels, and subjective well-being in older adults regardless of osteoarticular disease. The present study suggests the need for promoting physical exercise due to its proven positive impact on older adults’ mental health, entailing a significant reduction in the risks of suffering from a variety of frequent diseases and disorders.


Author(s):  
Kelly J. Gillis ◽  
John P. Hirdes

ABSTRACTThe health promotion literature for young adults is not generalizable to the elderly, and different outcomes are likely to motivate changes in health practices within the two populations. Main and interactive effects of smoking, alcohol consumption, obesity and physical activity on older Canadians' quality of life are examined with 1991 GSS data. Quality of life is operationalized with psychological well-being and subjective health indicators. Two dichotomous outcomes are used for each dimension, where one outcome is relatively sensitive in detecting impaired quality of life and the other relatively specific. Smoking was consistently associated with negative outcomes, but there was little evidence of adverse effects for alcohol consumption. Physical activity effects were most pronounced comparing sedentary and moderately active individuals. Body mass index showed curvilinear associations with impaired quality of life and interactions with smoking and activity level in separate models.


2020 ◽  
Vol 33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Daniela Clementino ◽  
Rita Maria Monteiro Goulart

Abstract Introduction: Aging is a worldwide phenomenon that has favored an increase in people aged 80 years and older. Objective: To assess the influence of nutritional status (NS), measures of frailty, and physical activity level (PAL) on the quality of life (QoL) of long-lived people. Method: The study was carried out from Oct 2016 to Sept 2017 with 103 individuals aged 80 years or more. NS was classified according to the PAHO Health, Well-Being and Aging (SABE) survey; waist circumference (WC) and calf perimeter (CP) was based on the WHO classification; handgrip strength (HGS) and gait speed (GS) used the classification proposed by Lauretani; PAL was classified according to the IPAQ short form; the WHOQoL-bref and WHOQoL-old were applied to measure QOL. Variables were assessed using the Mann-Whitney U and t-tests. Results: 69.2% were women, with an average age of 82.75 (± 2.98) years, and only WC showed a significant association (p <0.001). The older women without dynapenia exhibited better QoL in the physical domain (p = 0.004), social relationships (p = 0.022), self-reported QoL (p = 0.017) of the WHOQoL-bref and social participation facet (p = 0.025) of WHOQOL-old. Comparison of QoL with NS and PAL showed a significant difference in self-reported QoL (p = 0.027) for the former and past, present and future activities for the latter (p = 0.050). Conclusion: Obesity and the absence of dynapenia were positively associated with the QoL of long-lived individuals. PAL was associated with positive QoL in one facet of the WHOQoL-old.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Arinze Okonkwo ◽  
Peter Olarenwaju Ibikunle ◽  
Izuchukwu Nwafor ◽  
Andrew Orovwigho

BACKGROUND Quality of life (QoL), physical activity (PA) level and psychological profile (PF) of patients with serious mental illness have been neglected during patient’s management OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of selected psychotropic drugs on the QoL, PA level and PF of patients with serious mental illness METHODS A cross sectional survey involving one hundred and twenty-four subject [62 Serious Mental Illness (SMI) and 62 apparently healthy subjects as control] using purposive and consecutive sampling respectively .Questionnaires for each of the constructs were administered to the participants for data collation. Analysis of the data was done using non parametric inferential statistics of Mann-Whitney U independent test and Spearman’s rho correlation with alpha level set as 0.05. RESULTS Significant difference was recorded in the QoL (p<0.05) of patient with SMI and apparently healthy psychotropic naive participants. There was a significant correlation between the QoL (p<0.05) and PF of participants with SMI. Participants with SMI had significantly lower QoL than apparently healthy psychotropic naive subject. QoL of the healthy psychotropic naive group was better than those of the participants with SMI. Female participants with SMI had higher PA than their male counterparts CONCLUSIONS Psychological profiles of male participants with SMI were lower than male healthy psychotropic naive participants. Clinicians should take precaution to monitor the QoL, PA level and PF because the constructs are relevant in evaluation of treatment outcome.


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