Effects of Brisk Walking Combined With Tai Chi Chuan on Health-Related Physical Fitness and Selected Health Parameters Among Older Chinese Women

Summary

Aging is a problem that exists in many countries in the world. China has a large population base and a large number of elderly people. Paying attention to the health of the elderly is a problem that the Chinese government and society have been paying attention to. In order to improve the physical fitness of the elderly, the government encourages the elderly to do more exercise. However, the elderly do not exercise usually, and the way of exercise is relatively simple, which cannot meet the needs of comprehensive improvement of the elderly's physical fitness. For example, endurance, strength, flexibility, and balance are the most important to the elderly's physical fitness. Tai Chi Chuan is very popular in China. 79.36% of people in China choose brisk walking as the basic exercise. These two exercises have no venue, equipment requirements, and relatively simple technical movements. They are more convenient for the elderly to implement, and according to the literature It is found that Tai Chi Chaun is very effective in improving the balance and flexibility of the elderly, while brisk walking is very effective in improving endurance, and both Tai Chi and brisk walking can improve the strength of the elderly. Therefore, the combination of Taijiquan and brisk walking in this study can meet the four exercise components of elderly people's comprehensive development of physical fitness, endurance, strength, flexibility, and balance, and through the literature, it is found that the effect of combined exercise is better than that of a single exercise. Therefore, this study is divided into 4 groups, Tai Chi Chuan group, brisk walking group, Tai Chi combination brisk walking group, and control group. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of combine brisk walking and Tai Chi Chuan (BWTCC) on health-related physical fitness and selected health parameters among older Chinese women. The specific objectives of these studies are as follows:

1. To evaluate the effectiveness of brisk walking (BW), Tai Chi Chuan (TCC), and their combination (BWTCC) on health-related physical fitness (Cardiorespiratory fitness, Body composition, Flexibility, Muscular Strength, and Muscular endurance) among older Chinese women at pre-test, post-test and at three (3) months post-intervention.
2. To evaluate the effectiveness of brisk walking (BW), Tai Chi Chuan (TCC), and their combination (BWTCC) on health parameters (Blood pressure, Resting heart rate, Balance, Height, and weight) among older Chinese women at pre-test, post-test and at three (3) months post-intervention.
3. To evaluate the effectiveness of brisk walking (BW), Tai Chi Chuan (TCC), and their combination BWTCC on QoL among older Chinese women at pre-test and post-test.

The following hypothesis ： HO1: There are no significant differences among the three intervention groups (BW, TCC and BWTCC) and with the control group on health-related physical fitness (Cardiorespiratory fitness, Body composition, Flexibility, Muscular Strength, and Muscular endurance) among older Chinese women at pre-test and post-test.

HO2: There are no significant differences among the three intervention groups (BW, TCC and BWTCC) and with the control group on health parameters (Blood pressure, Resting heart rate, Balance) among older Chinese women at pre-test and post-test.

HO3: There are no significant differences among the three intervention groups (BW, TCC and BWTCC) and with the control group on QoL among older Chinese women at pre-test and post-test.

Conditions

• Walking

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Brisk walking and Tai Chi Chuan

This study includes four groups, the three experimental groups are brisk walking group, Tai chi chuan group, brisk walking combined with Tai chi chuan group, and control group. Among the three experimental groups and exercise time, exercise intensity and exercise frequency are the same over time.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Bai Xiaorong

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

FACTORIAL

Eligibility

Min Age

60 Years

Max Age

69 Years

Sex

FEMALE

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2021-07-03

Primary Completion

2021-10-23

Completion

2021-10-24

Countries

• China

Study Locations