Profi le of physical activity in daily life in physically independent elderly men and women

The capacity to continue performing daily activities during old age is one of the main concerns of professionals working in the field of aging (HUEYTZY, CHIEN-HSUN & LI-HUI, 2009), since good physical fitness and ability to perform activities of daily living are related to autonomy, better health and better subjective perception of well-being (WERNGREN-ELGSTRÖM, CARLSSON & IWARSSON, 2009). Based on such evidence, scientific interest in the objective quantification of daily activities performed by the elderly has increased, since the detailed knowledge of these activities allows better understanding of how elderly subjects can reach and maintain the standards of physical activity recommended by the American College of Sport Medicine necessary for health (30 minutes of moderate activity five times per week) (CHODZKOZAJKO, PROCTOR, FIATARONE-SINGH, MINSON, NIGG, SALEM & SKINNER, 2009). Among the variables involved in daily activities, the walking stands out Abstract