| Physical functioning decreases with increasing age. Forty-two percent of adults age 65 and older reported difficulty in performing usual activities. Evidence from epidemiologic studies indicates that poor physical functioning in late life is not inevitable and that decline in physical functioning is modified by factors other than age and disease. In addition, once physical functioning starts to decline, the use of compensatory strategies may halt or decrease the progression to further impairment. To identify factors associated with physical functioning and the use of compensatory strategies, a longitudinal study was conducted using the Johns Hopkins Precursors Study.; The first paper assessed the association of lifetime physical activity patterns from young adulthood to midlife with level of and rate of decline in physical functioning later in life. Our findings suggest that the earlier in life a person starts to exercise, the greater the benefit appears to be to physical functioning at older ages. Persons who began exercising at older ages also experience benefit, indicating that it is never too late to start exercising.; The second paper assessed the association of body weight and weight change from young adulthood to midlife with level of and rate of change in physical functioning later in life. Findings from this paper suggest that, first, greater BMI from young adulthood to midlife is a strong predictor of future decline in physical functioning at age 65 and older. Second, such associations exist even at desirable BMI. Lastly, it emphasizes the importance of weight management beginning in early adulthood and raises concern about the long-term effect of the current epidemic of obesity in the United State.; The third paper determined characteristics associated with the use of compensatory strategies in the presence or absence of difficulty in complex tasks and mobility. These findings indicate that lower levels of physical functioning plays a major role in predicting the use of compensatory strategies in both complex tasks and mobility. However, among persons without task difficulties, those who directed tension outward or who rate their health poorly are more likely to use compensatory strategies. These results again emphasize the concepts proposed by several gerontologists that older adults are proactive in managing the losses associated with the aging process.; In summary, these studies have two important contributions to the study of aging. First, identifying long-term impact of physical activity as well as body weight beginning at young adulthood is a first step to halt and slow down the decline in physical functioning with age. Second, understanding characteristics of those people who successfully prevent functional decline by implementing compensatory strategies provides a basis for secondary preventive strategies. |
