Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/1472735
Move It or Lose It In older men, higher levels of physical activity are associated with greater strength and mobility, as measured by grip strength, walking speed and leg power. in Older Men BY JACQUELYN SCOTT BASED ON THE OSTEOPOROTIC FRACTURES IN MEN STUDY, HIGHER PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IS ASSOCIATED WITH AN INCREASE IN FUNCTIONAL STRENGTH AND MOBILITY IN OLDER MEN, AS WELL AS DECREASED RISK OF HOSPITALIZATION. EVIDENCE SUGGESTS INCORPORATING PHYSICAL ACTIVITY INTO PRIMARY CARE. A S IT RE ACHE S its 20-year mark, the Osteoporotic Fractures in Men (MrOS) Study reveals higher levels of physical activ it y a re a ssociated w ith g reater strength and mobility in older men. Marcia Stefanick, Ph.D., Professor of Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Epidemiology and Population Health at Stanford University School of Medicine and the Stanford site's principal inves- tigator for the MrOS, saw three distinct patterns of declining physical activity and functional independence. These three patterns include a low-, moderate- and high-activity group, and the patterns correlated with changes in grip strength, walking speed and leg power. PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AS IT PERTAINS TO FUNCTIONAL PERFORMANCE The MrOS started in 2000 and recruited 5,994 older men to study multiple health measures, such as grip strength, walking speed and leg power, among many others. The free online database now houses an extensive bank of data from which researchers can draw correlations. Among the data collected, Dr. Stefanick and a team of researchers discovered that functional performance declined on average across all of the subjects as they aged, but performance declined the most in participants with the least physical activity. Their study, "Physical Activity Trajectories and Associated Changes in Physical Performance in Older Men: The MrOS Study," reviewed MrOS data on gait speed, grip strength and timed chair stand. According to their research, men with the highest physical activity lost 0.328 feet per second, 8.356 pounds and 0.38 seconds, respectively, whereas men with the lowest physical activity lost 0.525 feet per second, 10.648 pounds and 0.53 Implications of Physical Activity and Health Measures 2 4 SPECIAL CLINICAL SECTION: MEN'S HEALTH