社區型團體運動對社區中老年人身心功能之影響

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of a community-based group exercise program on the physical, psychological, and memory functions in middle-aged and elderly population. Methods: A total of 16 participants were enrolled in the community-based exercise training group as the experimental group. The exercise training program was 90 minutes once a week for a total of 24 weeks. Thirteen community residents, who did not participate in any kind of exercise program, volunteered to participate in the control group and maintained their daily routine during the study. Both groups were tested with physical, psychological, and memory functions at the baseline phase, the middle and the end of the program. Two-way repeated measured analysis of variance was used to examine the group and time effects. Paired t test were used within each group to analyze the change in the middle and the end of the program. Results: The experimental group had significant improvement on the waist and hip measures, the strength of lower body, immediate and delayed memory, and some domains in SF-36 (ps＜ .05). Conclusion: This study supports that the effects of the 24-weeks community exercise group, in a regimen of 90 minutes session, once a week, can improve the physical function, memory, and quality of life in the middle-aged and elderly population.