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Discussion

It is clear that exercise definitely played a beneficial role in reducing the impairments in the elderly population, but its role in minimizing disability is not defined adequately. This review had certain limitations. First of all, it did not consider articles with specific exercise protocols such as intensity or duration of training. It may be possible that a certain intensity of training is required to obtain beneficial outcomes at certain levels of disability. Secondly, the findings did not consider incident functional loss or disability. Finally, the assessments of physical activity varied, as none of the studies used the same conceptual definition of physical activity.

The review provides a conceptual framework to understand late-life physical activity, disablement outcomes, and how these two areas are related. However, several more issues must be considered to increase the scientific evidence on physical activity, exercise, and disability. If the researchers find out the exact mechanism of action that connects exercise and disability, it will help them record specific disability outcomes more precisely, so as to obtain a better understanding of this relationship.

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This fact sheet was last updated on 01-23-2006.