Elderly are an at risk population for sedentary and health problems. Of course, the age and the inactivity both contribute to this situation. The most inactive population is at the age of 80 and over. 

Health coaching can be used to increase the rate and duration of physical activity. A review (Oliveira et al., 2017) examined a total of 27 trials with participants aged 61 to 79. Among the conditions that the elderly had were pulmonary disease, metabolic syndrome, chronic heart failure, diabetes, colorectal cancer, artery disease, rheumatoid arthritis, Parkinson’s disease. 

The coaching was delivers via telephone or face-to-face. Between these two, the face-to-face coaching had more significant effects that the first type. These effects refer to increases in participation in sportive activities. There were no significant effect on mobility, quality of life and mood among the elderly. 

Bibliografie: Oliveira, J. S., Sherrington, C., Amorim, A. B., Dario, A. B., & Tiedemann, A. (2017). What is the effect of health coaching on physical activity participation in people aged 60 years and over? A systematic review of randomised controlled trials. British journal of sports medicine, 51(19), 1425-1432.

autor: Doris Pop