Katarzyna Prusik, Dr. Academy of physical education and sport, Gdansk, Poland
Karol Gorner, Dr. University Mateja Bela, Banska Bystritsa, Slovakia

 

Key words: motor activity, women, 60-80 years old, monitoring, reliability, positive health.

 

Introduction. The problem of health preservation and increase of active life of elderly people is considered as one of the urgent issues. Development of its scientific-theoretical and technological basics in many respects is associated with the validation of the system of integrated monitoring of health of the ones who train in conditions of different kinds of motor activity [1, 4, 5, 7]. The objective quantitative estimation of health enables organizing the educational process in compliance with the requirements of controlled processes. In this case control information is considered as a feedback mechanism between a teacher and the involved ones [2, 6, 8]. A preliminary research was made within the three-year cycle of regular classes with the permanent contingent of women aged 60-80. Nordic cross country walking was the main method of motor activity.

The optimal set of benchmarks, quantitative and qualitative scales of marks of functioning of body systems was proved in our previous publications. Among them BMI (FAT%, FFM), stabilography in the Romberg’s test and results in Nordic walking at 2000 m above the sea level [3]. The last of these benchmarks was allocated among the listed above on the first factor. The percentage contribution of this factor to the total sample of 17 benchmarks was 34.9 %, and the validity of the results in walking at 2000 m above the sea level in the matrix of F analysis equaled to 0.369. Thereon, the result in walking was included to the block of four benchmarks and recommended as an integral criterion of positive health of the engaged ones.

The purpose of the study was to prove the diagnostic reliability of the index in walking at the altitude of 2000 m as a test task in general estimation of positive health of 60-80-year-old physically active women.

Organization of research. The process of motor activity was organized in accordance with general teaching requirements. Each session consisted of preliminary, primary and final parts up to 60 min long. Three sessions were planned in a weekly cycle, which was 11-12 per month and up to 100-110 in a year cycle. When planning a recreational process of motor activity the focus was on the primary use of the cyclic aerobic locomotions of low and medium intensity in the rough terrain park area. These exercises took 85 % of the time in general. Conditioning exercises intended to develop flexibility and ability to maintain body balance took up to 10%, selective strength exercises amounted to 5% and were carried out in the preliminary and final parts of training. The walking tempo for representatives of each age category was adjusted individually from time to time in view of heart rate. The reliability of the benchmark in walking was proved in the following way. The test survey of a group of women (n = 24) in conditions of walking at 2000 m above the sea level was held on the indoor track at the stable atmospheric temperature at the same time of day. The results of control clearing of distance are used in the statistical analysis to conclude on the reliability of this test task. The calculation of reliability of the results in walking was carried out in accordance with the general metrological requirements in the following order of statistical operations [2].

The distribution of the total body of data of the surveyed group in walking at 2000 m above the sea level was examined for their compliance with the normal requirements by the Shapiro-Wilk test. The results of these data distribution adequately met the Gauss’s requirements. The reliability of the results in walking was determined by calculating the linear correlation coefficient between metric results in minutes, recorded when clearing the 2000m distance for the second time with an interval for the seven day active rest.

The results of the analysis were duplicated by the method of calculation of rank correlation, which enabled us to judge by stability of rank positions of the engaged ones in the repeated test.

Results. Since the lineup of the engaged ones was formed of the number of those willing to promote their health in conditions of organized motor activity, but not specially selected for these purposes, women of different somatic types, ages and states of motor function were in the lineup (Tab.1). As seen in Table 1, the engaged ones differed significantly by the index of the variation coefficient (V%) in the percentage of fatty tissue (FAT %=17,30%); fat free mass (FFM=14,67%); total body water (TBW=14,55%); in total body weight (14,51%).

Table 1. Statistical data on somatic features of the group of engaged ones (n=24)

	Age, years	Height, cm	Weight, kg	BMI кг/м2	Fat%	FFM kg	TBW kg
М	68,07	163,77	70,18	26,12	33,66	46,19	34,67
σ2	5,66	7,09	10,19	3,06	5,82	6,82	5,05
min	59,0	152,0	51,60	21,20	24,40	36,60	26,80
max	79,0	178,0	92,20	33,80	47,30	65,80	48,20
V%	8,31	4,33	14,51	11,72	17,30	14,76	14,55

Apparently, the stipulated features of the surveyed contingent could affect the overall reliability of the test task, which was characterized by the degree of concordance of repeated results in walking at 2000 m above the sea level. The measure of concordance of results was characterized using Student’s t-test. As shown in Table 2, the difference of the means of ​​results when clearing the 2000m control distance for the second time was within 1.16 min, which was 4.2 % at the value of t-test 0.42. Since the table value t, in our case for n = 24, at 5% significance equals to 2.06, the statistically significant differences at duplication of test results in this test task were not detected.

Table 2. The results of repeated test of the engaged ones as a reliability criterion of the test task - walking at 2000 m above the sea level (n=24)

Tests	Statistical parameters
	М(min)	σ2	V%	Difference, min	Difference, %	t	p
I	18,25	1,79	9,8	1,16	4,2	0,43	>0,05
II	17,42	1,96	11,3

Conclusion. The studies resulted in the statistical approval of reliability of one of benchmarks used in the common block to estimate positive health of the group of 60-80-year-old women. However, the simple and rank correlation methods applied for calculation of metric reliability of results in walking at the altitude of 2000 m at the same test task were proved ambiguous. The rank correlation coefficient was equal to 0,968, while the linear one amounted only to 0,593. The variance in the values of the correlation coefficients must be due to ambiguous by age contingent of trainees (V%=8,31) and a number of other characteristics (V%=11,72-17,30; Tab. 1). These differences stipulated for the fact that senior subjects (and differing by other characteristics) preserved same positions in re-testing in walking at the altitude of 2000 m they had taken in the rank classification of the group when they had passed the distance first. In conditions of the calculated linear correlation coefficient its value was influenced by the metric values of standard deviations of the results in walking in the first test and re-testing.

Let us note that at the first phase of the study, we compared the results in walking of the actively engaged ones in the experimental group (n = 24) with the data of the control group of women of similar age groups (n = 271) not engaged in any motor activity [3]. The research results testified to the positive effect of the common system of classes in a long-term training process. In this study the positive dynamics of the positive health of the engaged ones was the most remarkable in the results of walking at the altitude of 2000 m, rather than in other indices used together to estimate the positive health of senior women.

It can be assumed that psychological advantages could compensate for some deviations from the norm in the indices of somatomorphotype in single surveyed ones in control walking. In this situation the results in walking, compared with other indicators in Table 1, were proved to be the most informative in the overall assessment of positive health of the engaged ones.

 

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 Author’s contacts: prusik@hot.pl