The study, funded by a Medicare HMO provider, set standards for fitness levels that are normal, below average, or so low that people are at risk of needing a nursing home. That's normal for that age. Rikli found that fitness declined with age on average 1 percent a year. She advised people to track whether they're declining faster than normal, or if exercise is paying off and they're improving. Regardless of age, people who got moderate physical activity at least three times a week were the most fit.
Some doctors already use similar but experimental tests to assess elderly patients' limitations.
Rikli wants such assessments to reach more older Americans. Already, some of the 267 senior centers that participated in Rikli's study are using the fitness assessments. She will advertise the consumer brochures in publications targeted to older Americans once they're complete. But instead of waiting, senior centers or doctors could simply check April's edition of the Journal of Aging and Physical Activity for the study results. Home Grapefruit Seed Extract topics here.