Physical Activity and its Association with Emotional State in the Elderly with Obesity

Abstract

Objective: to determine the physical activity and the association with emotional state in adults from 60 to 70 years with obesity. Methods: analytical cross-sectional study, carried out at the Family Medicine Unit No. 75 of the Mexican Institute of Social Security, from May to July 2019, participants were included through a non-randomized sample by convenience. The anthropometric measures assessed were: weight, size, and abdominal girth to classify the class of obesity. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire (ipaq) and the mood rating scale (Escala de Valoración de Estado de Ánimo) were applied. The results shown are measures of central tendency, frequencies and percentages; the statistical test χ² was used, considering a significant value of p<0.05 for the association of physical activity and emotional state. Results: 275 adults participated, with an average age of 65.1 years, 39.6% were men and 60.4% women. Of the total population studied, 63.6% presented obesity class I, 29.1% class ii, 7.3% class iii; 28.7% presented low physical activity. In relation to emotional state, joy predominated in 40.7% of the cases that carried out physical activity. Evaluating the association between low physical activity and altered emotional state (depression, anxiety, and anger), an or of 1.9 was detected (1.1, 3.3). Conclusion: low physical activity is associated with an emotional state characterized by anxiety, depression and anger.