Long-term Adherence to Exercise: the Relationship with Functional Fitness and Personal Motivation among Community- Dwelling Independent-living Older Women

Objective: The aim of this study were to examine the relationships between functional fitness, self-esteem, aesthetic body care and long-term adherence to dance, and to identify other characteristics related to dance adherence in the elderly. Methods: Seventeen women, aged 59-86 years-old, who practised a type of dance labeled “bodily expression”. Results: Functional fitness was correlated to dance adherence and was the only factor related to this variable in a linear regression analysis. Self-esteem and aesthetic body care seemed to play an indirect role on adherence. Functional fitness, specially upper-body flexibility and lower-body muscular function, and interest in dance (qualitative data) were related to long-term adherence to dance. Conclusions: Functional fitness and interest in exercising were the main aspects related to participants’ long-term adherence to dance.