Elderly Nutrition - Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion - US ...

functional performance. We designated
the functional categories based on the
literature (Guralnik et al., 1994), which
reported a strong association with
measures of self-reported disability.
For example, 48 to 91 percent of the
study participants who reported that
they needed help to walk one-half mile
had a performance summary score
ranging from 0 to 5, an indication of
low functional ability. In comparison
15 to 36 percent of those who reported
needing help scored from 6 to 9, an
indication of average functioning; and
3 to 9 percent of participants had a
summary performance score of 10 to
12, indicating high functional ability.
The fitness test, also used to assess
the functional ability of program
participants, was designed to obtain
normative data regarding physical and
functional performance of communitydwelling
older adults and to identify
criterion-reference standards needed
by the older adults to maintain the
ability to perform “desired activity
goals.” The six components to the
Fullerton Functional Fitness Test
for Older Americans each reflect a
physical parameter of functional fitness
and activities of daily living. For two
tasks—Sit and Reach and Back
Scratch—participants scored 0 if
they were able to reach their toes or
touch their fingertips of both hands.
Reaching past these points resulted
in a positive score while not being
able to reach these points resulted
in a negative score.
The tests included in this battery are
based on the guidelines established
by the American College of Sports
Medicine (Roitman, 2001) and are
safe for most community-dwelling
older adults to perform without
receiving prior medical screening;
however, we did not use the 6-minute
walk test because of concerns about
obtaining approval from the institutional
review boards and because of
Table 1. Self-reported general health status of older adults 1 in Georgia
Question description Pre-test Post-test
Percent
Would you say that in general your health is:
Excellent 6 8
Very good 18 20
Good 44 43
Fair 28 25
Poor 4 4
How much do your health troubles stand in your way
(of doing things)?
Not at all 36 37
A little 48 48
A great deal 16 15
How important is it to your health to be active all or most
days of the week?
Not at all 2 1
Somewhat 16 16
Very 63 61
Extremely 18 22
1 Age 60 or older who received congregate meals provided by the Older Americans Nutrition Program.
the lack of space to perform this test at
some senior centers.
Statistical Analysis
We used the Statistical Analysis
System, Version 8.2 (SAS Institute,
2001) to analyze the data. Paired t-tests
and chi-squares were used to determine
whether pre- and post-test results were
statistically significant (p