Upper body and neck range of motion (ROM) are important for safe walking and driving. The purpose of this study was to determine whether stretching would improve neck, trunk, and shoulder ROM. Forty-eight community-dwelling women (75 ± 3 years of age) were randomly allocated to intervention (upper body stretching, n = 15) and control conditions (lower body power training, n = 33). All participants exercised in supervised 45-minute sessions twice weekly for 12 weeks. Testing of upper body ROM included a cervical ROM, device-based measurement and field tests of the neck, trunk, and shoulder ranges. Shoulder ROM was the only movement that improved in the intervention group beyond levels seen in control participants (33% increase, p < 0.01). Neck and trunk ROM did not change in response to a specific stretching program. Older adults with ROM limitations may need to explore other exercise options or focus on compensatory strategies for safe community mobility.

The prevalence of obesity is high in older persons and recent trends show a rapid increase in this prevalence. Results from observational and intervention studies (i.e. weight loss studies) show the strong negative impact of obesity on functional status in old age. There are different potential pathways through which obesity may lead to functional decline in older persons. Furthermore, the presence of overweight and obesity during the life course and trends in medical care are likely to influence the impact of obesity on disability. The concepts sarcopenia (age-related loss of muscle mass) and dynapenia (age-related loss of muscle strength) receive a lot of research attention as potential determinants of functional decline in old age. There is no consensus on the definitions of these concepts. Recent studies conducted in large cohort studies of mainly community-dwelling older persons show that poor muscle strength is strongly associated with functional decline compared to low muscle mass. In several studies, no association between muscle mass and functional status was observed. Current research on the combination of obesity with poor muscle strength (dynapenic-obesity) suggests a potential additive effect of both components on poor functional status in old age which seems independent of the level of physical activity.