Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gbm5v Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T23:16:46.159Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Do “Young-Old” Exercisers Feel Better Than Sedentary Persons? A Cohort Study in Switzerland*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 March 2010

Christian J. Lalive d'Epinay  and
Jean-François Bickel
Christian J. Lalive d'Epinay*
Affiliation:
University of Geneva, Switzerland
Jean-François Bickel
Affiliation:
University of Geneva, Switzerland
*
Requests for offprints should be sent to: / Les demandes de tirés-a-part doivent être adressé e s à: Christian J. Lalive d'Epinay, Centre for Interdisciplinary Gerontology (CIG), University of Geneva, 59, route de Mon Idée, CH-1226 Geneva (Thônex), Switzerland. ([email protected])
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

From a “successful aging” perspective, the subjective feeling of well-being is as important as “objective” health. Physical exercise is seen as being an effective way of staying healthy, but its link with well-being in a normal aging population remains largely unexplored. Based on two randomized surveys of the aging population, conducted in 1979 and 1994, respectively, with questionnaires including retrospective questions on activities and health, two cohorts of young-old (aged 64–74) were selected (cohort 1, born 1905–1914, N = 949; cohort 2, born 1920–1929, N = 602) and split into four groups, corresponding to their exercising trajectories (long-term exercisers LE, new exercisers NE, quitters Q, sedentary S). The link between the four trajectories and two indicators of well-being (self-rated health, self-assessed depression scale) was examined by means of regression analyses. In both cohorts, the LE group had a higher level of well-being than the Q and the S. The study also throws light on the case of the quitters (Q), who showed the lowest level of well-being. Scant research has hitherto been done on the causes and repercussions of abandoning exercise.

Résumé

Selon le paradigme du « vieillissement réussi », le sentiment de bien-être est aussi important que la sant é «objectiv e.» L'exercice physique est considéré comme un facteur important de la santé ; cependant, son lien avec le bien-être au sein de la population vieillissante n'a été que peu exploré. Sur la base de deux enquêtes sur échantillons aléatoires de la population âgée menées l'une en 1979 et l'autre en 1994, qui comprenaient des questions biographiques, deux cohortes de personnes de 65 à 74 ans ont été sélectionnées (cohorte 1, née en 1905–1914, N = 949 ; cohorte 2, née en 1920–1929, N = 602) et réparties en quatre groupes selon leur trajectoire sportive (sportifs constants LE ; nouveaux sportifs NE ; anciens sportifs Q ; sédentaires S). Le lien entre ces trajectoires et deux indicateurs de bien-être (santé auto-évaluée et échelle de dépression auto-évaluée) a été examiné au moyen d'analyses de régression. Dans les deux cohortes, LE présente un niveau de bien-être supérieur à Q et S. Cette étude attire également l'attention sur les anciens sportifs (Q), qui ont le plus faible niveau de bien-être ; l'abandon de l'exercice physique et ses causes étant jusqu'à ce jour négligés par la recherche.

Keywords

vieillissementphysical exercisewell-beingcohort studySwitzerlandagingactivités sportivesbien-êtreétude de cohorteSuisse
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 22 , Issue 2 , Summer/L'été 2003 , pp. 155 - 165
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 2003

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

*

This research was funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (grant no. 1214–52377). We wish to thank Barry McPherson (Wilfrid Laurier University) and the two CJA reviewers, for their helpful comments and suggestions; Nathalie Vollenwyder (Geneva), for the preliminary analyses she made; and Ian Hamilton (Geneva), for his editorial work.

References

American College of Sports Medicine. (1998). Exercise and physical activity for older adults. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 30, 992–1008.Google Scholar
Dose-response issues concerning physical activity and health [Special issue]. (2001). Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 33(June suppl.).Google Scholar
Baltes, P., & Baltes, M.M. (Eds.). (1990). Successful aging: Perspective from the behavioral sciences. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baltes, P., & Mayer, K.-U. (Eds). (1999). The Berliner aging study: Aging from 70 to 100. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Blossfeld, H.-P., & Götz, R. (1995). Techniques of event history modeling. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlsbaum.Google Scholar
Bokovoy, J.L., & Blair, S.N. (1994). Aging and exercise: A health perspective. Journal of Aging and Physical Activity, 2, 243–260.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bouchard, C., Shephard, R.J., & Stephens, T. (Eds.). (1994). Physical Activity, Fitness, and Health: International proceedings and consensus statement. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brückner, E., & Mayer, K.-U. (1998). Collecting life history data. Experiences from the German life history study. In Giele, J.Z. & Elder, G.H. Jr. (Eds), Methods of life course research: Quantitative and qualitative approaches (pp. 152–181), Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campbell, R.T. (1992). Longitudinal research. In Borgatta, E.F. & Borgatta, M.L. (Eds.), Encyclopedia of sociology (Vol. 3; pp. 1147–1158). New York: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Elkeles, T. (1997). Trends in sports activities in elder German people 1984 to 1991. In Huber, G. (Ed.), Proceedings of the Fourth International Congress on Healthy Aging, Activity and Sports (pp. 487–492). Gamburg, Germany: Health Promotion Publications.Google Scholar
Garrigues, C. (1989). Une France un peu plus sportive qu'il y a vingt ans … grâce aux femmes. Economie et statistique, 224, 45–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heikkinen, R.L. (1998). The role of physical activity in healthy aging. Geneva: World Health Organization, Ageing and Health Programme.Google Scholar
Hirvensalo, M., Lampinen, P., & Rantanen, T. (1998). Physical exercise in old age: An eight-year follow-up study on involvement, motives, and obstacles among persons age 65–84. Journal of Aging and Physical Activity, 6, 157–168.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Höpflinger, F. (1995). From ageism to gerontologism? Emerging images of aging in gerontology. In Hummel, C. & d'Epinay, C. Lalive (Eds.), Images of aging in Western societies (pp. 91–98). Geneva: University of Geneva, Centre for Interdisciplinary Gerontology.Google Scholar
Keysor, J.J., & Jette, A.M. (2001). Have we oversold the benefits of late-life exercise? The Journals of Gerontology. Series A, Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, 56A, M412–M423.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lalive d'Epinay, C., Christe, E., Coenen-Huther, J., Hagmann, H.M., Jeanneret, O., Junod, , et al. . (1983). Vie-illesses. Situations, itinéraires et modes de vie des personnes âgées aujourd'hui. St Saphorin, Switzerland: Georgi.Google Scholar
Lalive d'Epinay, C., Bickel, J.-F., Maystre, C., & Vollenwyder, N. (2000). Vieillesses au fil du temps: 1979–1994: santé, situations de vie, formes de participation et visions du monde des personnes âgées en Suisse. Lausanne, Switzerland: Réalités sociales.Google Scholar
Lalive d'Epinay, C., Maystre, C., & Bickel, J.-F. (2001). Aging and cohort changes in sports and physical training from the Golden Decades onward: A cohort study in Switzerland. Loisirs et société / Society and Leisure, 24, 453–481.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lamprecht, M., & Stamm, H. (1994). Die soziale Ordnung der Freizeit. Zurich, Switzerland: Seismo.Google Scholar
Lehr, U., & Jüchtern, J. (1997). Psychophysical activity in the elderly: motivations and barriers. In Huber, G. (Ed.), Proceedings of the Fourth International Congress on Healthy Aging, Activity and Sports (pp. 25–35). Gamburg, Germany: Health Promotion Publications.Google Scholar
Manton, K.G., Corder, L.S., & Stallard, E. (1997). Chronic disability trends in elderly United States populations: 1982–1994. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences: Medical Sciences, 94, 2593–2598.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McAuley, E., & Rudolph, D. (1995). Physical activity, aging and psychological well-being. Journal of Aging and Physical Activity, 3, 67–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McPherson, B.D., & Yamaguchi, Y. (1995). Aging and active lifestyles: A cross-cultural analysis of factors influencing the participation of middle-aged and elderly cohorts. In Harris, S., Heikkinen, E., & Harris, W.S. (Eds.), Physical activity, aging and sports (Vol. 4, pp. 293–308). Albany, NY: Center for the Study of Aging.Google Scholar
Menard, S. (1991). Longitudinal research. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Mormiche, P. (1997). Vie et santé progressent de concert. In Du Pasquier, J. (Ed.), L'espérance de vie sans incapacités. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France.Google Scholar
Mossey, J.M., & Shapiro, E. (1982). Self-rated health. A predictor of mortality among the elderly. American Journal of Public Health, 72, 800–808.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
O'Connor, P.J., Aenchbacher, L.E., & Dishman, R.K. (1993). Physical activity and depression in the elderly. Journal of Aging and Physical Activity, 1, 34–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Paillat, P., Delbès, C., Gaymu, J., and Sammartino, E. (1993). Les pratiques culturelles des personnes âgées. Paris: Fondation nationale de gérontologie.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Parkatti, T., Deeg, D.J.H., Bosscher, R.J., & Launer, L.L.J. (1998). Physical activity and self-rated health among 55-to 89-year-old Dutch people. Journal of Aging and Health, 10, 311–326.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pate, R.R., & Macera, C.A. (1994). Risks of exercising: musculoskeletal injuries. In Bouchard, C., Shephard, R.J., & Stephens, T. (Eds.), Physical Activity, Fitness, and Health: International proceedings and consensus statement (pp. 1008–1018). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.Google Scholar
Plumer, K. (1983). Documents of life. London: Allen and Unwin.Google Scholar
Pohjolainen, P. (1997). Physical activity and self-rated health in two cohorts in the elderly. In Huber, G. (Ed.), Proceedings of the Fourth International Congress on Healthy Aging, Activity and Sports (pp. 505–509). Gamburg, Germany: Health Promotion Publications.Google Scholar
Pronovost, G. (1993). Loisir et société: traité de sociologie empirique. Sainte-Foy, QC: Presses de l'Université du Québec.Google Scholar
Ragheb, M.G., & Griffith, C.A. (1982). The contribution of leisure participation and leisure satisfaction to life satisfaction of older persons. Journal of Leisure Research, 14, 295–306.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rowe, J.W., & Kahn, R.L. (1997). Successful aging. The Gerontologist, 37, 433–440.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rowe, J.W., & Kahn, R.L. (1998). Successful aging. New York: Pantheon.Google ScholarPubMed
Rubin, D.C. (Ed.). (1996). Remembering our past: Studies in autobiographical memory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ruuskanen, J.M., & Ruoppila, I. (1995). Physical activity and psychological well-being among people aged 65 to 84 years. Age and Ageing, 24, 292–296.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Scheidt, R.J., Humpherys, D.R., & Yorgason, J.B. (1999). Successful aging: What's not to like? The Journal of Applied Gerontology, 18, 277–282.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shephard, R.J. (1997). Aging, physical activity and health. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.Google Scholar
Spirduso, W.W. (1994). Physical activity and aging: Retrospections and visions for the future. Journal of Aging and Physical Activity, 2, 233–242.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spirduso, W.W. & Leilani Cronin, D. (2001). Exercise dose-response effects on quality of life and independent living in older adults. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 33, S598–S608.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thomson, P.D., & Fahrenbach, M.C. (1994). Risks of exercising: Cardiovascular, including sudden cardiac death. In Bouchard, C., Shephard, R.J., & Stephens, T. (Eds.), Physical Activity, Fitness, and Health: International proceedings and consensus statement (pp. 1019–1028). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.Google Scholar
Thorslund, M., & Lundberg, O. (1994). Health and inequalities among the oldest old. Journal of Aging and Health, 6(1), 51–69.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (1996). Physical activity and health: A report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta: International Medical Publishing.Google Scholar
Verbrugge, L.M., Grubber-Baldini, A.L., & Fozard, J.L. (1996). Age differences and age changes in activities: Baltimore longitudinal study of aging. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 51B, S30–S41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wang, R., Treub, S., & Alverno, L. (1975). A brief self-assessing depression scale, Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 15, 163–167.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wankel, L.M., & Sefton, J.M. (1994). Physical activity and other lifestyle behaviors. In Bouchard, C., Shephard, R.J., & Stephens, T. (Eds.), Physical Activity, Fitness, and Health: International proceedings and consensus statement (pp. 530–550). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.Google Scholar
Zung, W.W.K. (1965). A self-rating depression scale. Archives of General Psychiatry, 12, 43–70.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed