The World Health Organization (WHO) projects a significant increase in the global elderly population by 2050, with a corresponding rise in life expectancy. This demographic shift poses challenges for public health and finances, primarily due to the age-related physical and cognitive decline. Even in the normal aging trajectory, the decline in muscle strength and power affects older individuals' abilities to perform daily activities, increasing the risk of functional limitations, loss of independence, and adverse health outcomes such as falls and mortality. Resistance training (RT) has been identified as an effective intervention to counteract the age-related decline in muscle function. RT is typically conducted in specialized facilities (i.e., gym) and with specialized equipment (i.e., isotonic machines, etc.). While recognized as the gold standard, this approach has a high cost and could be difficult to afford for the elderly who may live in retirement. In this special population, other barriers to engaging in an active lifestyle exist, for instance, lack of public transport availability, lack of information about the importance of healthy behavior, and social isolation. Therefore, all these barriers contribute to reinforcing older individuals' sedentary behaviors, which in turn exacerbate the negative effect of aging on muscle function. Home-based exercise programs have emerged as a viable alternative, demonstrating positive effects on physical function. However, these programs often lack proper monitoring of exercise execution. Technological advancements, including Wearable inertial measurement units (IMUs), offer potential solutions for effective home-based RT by enabling exercise prescription and monitoring. Despite their promising features, these devices' safety, feasibility, and efficacy for sarcopenia prevention require further investigation. Moreover, affordable and practical tools for assessing and monitoring physical function in older adults are essential. IMUs present an opportunity for objective and digitalized movement assessment, potentially leading to the early detection of functional decline. This approach could bridge the gap between exercise prescription and the need for accurate monitoring in home-based settings, ultimately supporting the health and independence of the aging population. This thesis aims to investigate the opportunity to deliver directly in older individuals' home environments both physical exercise training programs and physical assessment for health screening and monitoring of aging trajectories. In the introduction, an overview of the main issues related to older individuals' sedentary behaviors, as well as state-of-the-art effective active lifestyle initiatives, is provided. Then, the results of four original research articles are presented in chapters one, two, three, and four. Finally, in the general discussion section, the main findings of this research are presented.
The World Health Organization (WHO) projects a significant increase in the global elderly population by 2050, with a corresponding rise in life expectancy. This demographic shift poses challenges for public health and finances, primarily due to the age-related physical and cognitive decline. Even in the normal aging trajectory, the decline in muscle strength and power affects older individuals' abilities to perform daily activities, increasing the risk of functional limitations, loss of independence, and adverse health outcomes such as falls and mortality. Resistance training (RT) has been identified as an effective intervention to counteract the age-related decline in muscle function. RT is typically conducted in specialized facilities (i.e., gym) and with specialized equipment (i.e., isotonic machines, etc.). While recognized as the gold standard, this approach has a high cost and could be difficult to afford for the elderly who may live in retirement. In this special population, other barriers to engaging in an active lifestyle exist, for instance, lack of public transport availability, lack of information about the importance of healthy behavior, and social isolation. Therefore, all these barriers contribute to reinforcing older individuals' sedentary behaviors, which in turn exacerbate the negative effect of aging on muscle function. Home-based exercise programs have emerged as a viable alternative, demonstrating positive effects on physical function. However, these programs often lack proper monitoring of exercise execution. Technological advancements, including Wearable inertial measurement units (IMUs), offer potential solutions for effective home-based RT by enabling exercise prescription and monitoring. Despite their promising features, these devices' safety, feasibility, and efficacy for sarcopenia prevention require further investigation. Moreover, affordable and practical tools for assessing and monitoring physical function in older adults are essential. IMUs present an opportunity for objective and digitalized movement assessment, potentially leading to the early detection of functional decline. This approach could bridge the gap between exercise prescription and the need for accurate monitoring in home-based settings, ultimately supporting the health and independence of the aging population. This thesis aims to investigate the opportunity to deliver directly in older individuals' home environments both physical exercise training programs and physical assessment for health screening and monitoring of aging trajectories. In the introduction, an overview of the main issues related to older individuals' sedentary behaviors, as well as state-of-the-art effective active lifestyle initiatives, is provided. Then, the results of four original research articles are presented in chapters one, two, three, and four. Finally, in the general discussion section, the main findings of this research are presented.
Feasibility and effectiveness of innovative, technology-delivered, home-based resistance exercise testing and training interventions in older adults
FERRARI, LUCA
2024
Abstract
The World Health Organization (WHO) projects a significant increase in the global elderly population by 2050, with a corresponding rise in life expectancy. This demographic shift poses challenges for public health and finances, primarily due to the age-related physical and cognitive decline. Even in the normal aging trajectory, the decline in muscle strength and power affects older individuals' abilities to perform daily activities, increasing the risk of functional limitations, loss of independence, and adverse health outcomes such as falls and mortality. Resistance training (RT) has been identified as an effective intervention to counteract the age-related decline in muscle function. RT is typically conducted in specialized facilities (i.e., gym) and with specialized equipment (i.e., isotonic machines, etc.). While recognized as the gold standard, this approach has a high cost and could be difficult to afford for the elderly who may live in retirement. In this special population, other barriers to engaging in an active lifestyle exist, for instance, lack of public transport availability, lack of information about the importance of healthy behavior, and social isolation. Therefore, all these barriers contribute to reinforcing older individuals' sedentary behaviors, which in turn exacerbate the negative effect of aging on muscle function. Home-based exercise programs have emerged as a viable alternative, demonstrating positive effects on physical function. However, these programs often lack proper monitoring of exercise execution. Technological advancements, including Wearable inertial measurement units (IMUs), offer potential solutions for effective home-based RT by enabling exercise prescription and monitoring. Despite their promising features, these devices' safety, feasibility, and efficacy for sarcopenia prevention require further investigation. Moreover, affordable and practical tools for assessing and monitoring physical function in older adults are essential. IMUs present an opportunity for objective and digitalized movement assessment, potentially leading to the early detection of functional decline. This approach could bridge the gap between exercise prescription and the need for accurate monitoring in home-based settings, ultimately supporting the health and independence of the aging population. This thesis aims to investigate the opportunity to deliver directly in older individuals' home environments both physical exercise training programs and physical assessment for health screening and monitoring of aging trajectories. In the introduction, an overview of the main issues related to older individuals' sedentary behaviors, as well as state-of-the-art effective active lifestyle initiatives, is provided. Then, the results of four original research articles are presented in chapters one, two, three, and four. Finally, in the general discussion section, the main findings of this research are presented.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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Ferrari-Luca_PhD-Thesis_II.pdf
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Descrizione: Tesi Dottorato_Luca Ferrari
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