Articles
The Journal on Active Aging brings articles of value to professionals dedicated to older-adult quality of life. Content sweeps across the active-aging landscape to focus on education and practice. Find articles of interest by searching the article archives in three ways: Enter a keyword in the articles search bar; click on search by topic; or type a keyword or phrase in the general search bar at the top of the page.
Topic- Research
Whole body vibration, part one: what's shakin' now? by Joseph Signorile, PhD
Whole body vibration (WBV) has received considerable exposure as one of the new technical innovations in exercise. In my 2006 article “Whole body vibration training: a new wave in exercise intervention for older adults?” published in this journal, I reviewed the findings in the literature that examined the feasibility of using WBV as an intervention to address people’s needs as they age. A good deal of research has been done since that review, and this paper is intended to bring you up to date on the latest findings.
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The BASES expert statement on the use of music in exercise Produced on behalf of the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences by Dr. Costas I. Karageorghis, FBASES; Prof. Peter C. Terry, F
Music use by exercisers and athletes has become commonplace, but selection of music is often intuitive rather than scientific. For this reason, sport and exercise scientists have considered the role of evidence-based music prescription for physical activity. In this expert statement we will outline the current status of music research, summarize research themes and findings, and conclude with recom-mendations for practitioners and researchers. As the title of the statement suggests, the evidence presented refers primarily to exercise participants rather than elite athletes.
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Brain fitness for living and aging well by Alvaro Fernandez, MA, MBA, and Pascale Michelon, PhD
What’s new in the world of brain fitness since the summer of 2009, when the Journal on Active Aging® published the article “Healthy brain aging: why we need to retool ‘Use it or lose it’?
Much, it turns out.
First, in light of growing research, we need to update our thinking from “Use it or lose it” to “Use it and keep it.” As discussed below, the opportunity at hand is not primarily about the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease, it is truly about active aging.
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Engaging university aging research in a continuing care retirement community by Michael J. Logan, MHA, CASP
Alex Francis gets to know his research participants—and their spouses—better than most scientists would. So, while it could have been idle chat for a participant’s wife to mention that her husband was getting a new hearing aid, it raised a red flag for Francis.
Participants don’t often know how changes in their lives might affect Francis’s research outcomes. But for a scientist studying hearing and cognition, it could have been disastrous for a participant to change hearing aids in the middle of a study. Had Francis, like many scientists, kept his distance from his research participants, he may have never known about the new hearing aid and the way it would have affected his study.
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Using research to build a wellness program by Denise Heimlich, MS
All of us in the wellness industry like to believe that our programs increase fitness, improve health and benefit the well-being of our participants. We use this reasoning to encourage people to join our programs. What we also should be doing is clearly demonstrating these benefits by producing hard data.
When planning a program, research relevant published guidelines so that you understand what criteria will produce the results you intend. Established bodies of research provide clear pathways to success. Keeping abreast of evolving science and avoiding the hype surrounding trendy ideas establishes your personal and program credibility with residents and administration, helps keep your participating residents safe, and sets your program above many others.
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Strength training for frail older adults by Wayne L. Westcott, PhD, CSCS
There are numerous health-related reasons why adults of all ages should perform regular resistance exercise. Research has demonstrated that strength training is an effective means for:
• increasing muscle mass
• raising resting metabolic rate
• reducing body fat
• increasing bone mineral density
• improving glucose metabolism
•increasing gastrointestinal transit speed (i.e., how quickly food travels through the digestive system)
