The level of physical activity in elderly persons with overweight and obesity

Background. An important factor in maintaining elderly people in good health is an appropriate level of physical activity. The research into physical activity level of the elderly is quite crucial as the low level of such activity may lead to disability and that, in turn, generates the need of additional care which constitutes a serious social problem. As the existing data seem to lack a lot, new research would enrich our knowledge in new conclusions. Objective. The aim of the study is to analyze and estimate the physical activity of the elderly persons with overweight or obesity elderly. Material and methods. The research group consisted of 360 overweight and obese elderly people. The criteria of inclusion into a research group were living in family homes, overweight (BMI=25.0-29.9 kg/m2) or obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2), no contraindications to physical activity, age between 60 and 74 and written consent for the participation of the experiment. The control group consisted of 360 people without overweight and obesity. The inclusion criteria included age 60-74 BMI