AGING AND MOTOR BEHAVIOR

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• AGING AND MOTOR BEHAVIOR
• Kathleen Williams
• Yu-Kai Chang

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• The population of the world is aging.
• In this chapter,
• we will explore several behavioral domains that
  have been observed to change with increased age,
  including locomotion, balance and falls,
  strength, and cognition. We will examine the
  impact of physical activity and inactivity on
  these changes.
• So what do we know about aging and the impact
  physical activity might have on potential
  changes?

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• PHYSICAL CHANGES WITH AGING
• ---Osteoporosis A bone disease where there is
  loss of bone mass, making the bones more porous
  and fragile.
• With increasing age, many people actually do
  become shorter.
• Many people become hunched over as the upper
  spine becomes more fragile. This condition is
  called kyphosis,

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• ---Strength Changes
• sarcopenia (Evans, 1995).
• we become increasingly sedentary with increased
  age, resulting in lost strength. Much of our
  loss in strength is related to a general decline
  in muscle mass that occurs in older adults.

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• --- Cardiovascular Changes
• That the loss of motor fibers increases the
  metabolic cost of movement would clearly impact
  the cardiovascular system.
• Postural hypotension is a common condition in
  older adults. This is a condition that occurs
  when an individual transitions rapidly from lying
  to sitting or sitting to standing.

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• ---Sensory Changes
• Three of the body