ASSESSMENT OF THE STUDY'S PARTICIPANTS HAS ALREADY STARTED IN VILA NOVA DE CERVEIRA

A new phase of the study "Physical Fitness and Cognitive Performance of the Elderly - Competition as an Additional Motivation for Promoting an Active Lifestyle” was launched in Portugal. After the recruitment and selection of the participants to be included in the study, the project team from the Municipality of Vila Nova de Cerveira, under the supervision of researchers from the IPVC, assessed the participants based on anthropometric, biological and cognitive measures, during the month of March 2018.

The enrolment of people with 60 years or over was very significant, with 90 evaluations registered. Of this group, 35 already participate in the training sessions of preparation with a view to the September Olympics promoted by the Municipality of Vila Nova de Cerveira.

This participant will be subject to a physical activity intervention plan with two training sessions per week structured for two years (44 weeks each year), and the plan should include aerobic activity of moderate intensity (walking for example), in addition to muscle strengthening activities interspersed with aerobic activity of vigorous intensity (jogging, running).

Afterwards individuals will be evaluated until the last semester of 2020, at which time the results of the study should be presented.