Physical activity and cognitive functioning in aging

A Brief Note on the Validity and Reliability of the Rating of Perceived Exertion Scale in Monitoring Exercise Intensity among Chinese Older Adults in Hong Kong

This study examined the validity and reliability of the Cantonese Borg 6–20 Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) scale in monitoring exercise intensity among Chinese older adults. A total of 40 apparently healthy older adults (16 men, 24 women; M age = 69.8yr., SD = 4.56) performed two trials of three intermittent exercise tests administered in random order using the cycle ergometer. Results revealed significant differences of RPE, HR, and VO2 between different workloads, and there were moderate to high correlations between RPE and HR and VO2, respectively. Results also found moderate consistency of RPE between Trial 1 and Trial 2. These indicated that the Cantonese 6–20 RPE scale can be used as a valid and reliable tool for monitoring exercise intensity among the Chinese older adults.

A multidimensional view of out-of-home behaviors in cognitively unimpaired older adults: examining differential effects of socio-demographic, cognitive, and health-related predictors

Previous studies on predictors of out-of-home behavior (OOHB) have often neglected the multidimensional nature of this construct. The present study distinguished between two levels of analyzing OOHB: out-of-home mobility seen as single behavioral units (e.g., number of places visited, action range, and walking) versus OOHBs seen as engagement in integrated, larger activity units (e.g., cognitively and physically demanding activities). We examined whether a differential relationship between these levels of OOHBs with established predictors of OOHBs, i.e., socio-demographic variables, cognitive abilities, physical functioning, and depression, exists. A sample of 100 cognitively healthy, community-dwelling adults with a mean age of 70.8 years underwent a multi-method OOHB assessment using GPS- (out-of-home mobility) and questionnaire-based (out-of-home activity engagement) measures. Predictors were assessed based on internationally implemented procedures. Regression analyses showed that walking-based mobility and engagement in physical activities could be predicted by physical functioning, whereas most effects of socio-demographic variables, such as age and gender, and of depression on OOHBs were negligible. At the bivariate level, episodic memory was related to action range, global mobility, and to cognitively demanding activity engagement, but not to walking, whereas executive function was related with physically demanding activity engagement only. However, some of these connections became weaker in the full predictor model. Findings support the notion that it is necessary to assess OOHB as a multiple-indicator construct.