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BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article

Front. Aging
Sec. Healthy Longevity
Volume 5 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fragi.2024.1504789
This article is part of the Research Topic The Role of Physical Activity in Healthy Aging: Mechanisms and Interventions View all 3 articles

The impact of track and field training on dynapenia: gender differences in age-related decline of vertical jump performance among older adults

Provisionally accepted
Eneko Fernández-Peña Eneko Fernández-Peña 1Eugenio formiglio Eugenio formiglio 2Marco Gervasi Marco Gervasi 3*Piero Benelli Piero Benelli 3Alexander Bertuccioli Alexander Bertuccioli 3Giuseppe Russo Giuseppe Russo 4Valerio Giustino Valerio Giustino 4Antonino Patti Antonino Patti 4
  • 1 Department of Physical Education and Sport, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
  • 2 University of Urbino Carlo Bo, Urbino, Italy
  • 3 Department of Biomolecular Sciences, University of Urbino Carlo Bo, Urbino, Italy
  • 4 Department of Psychology, Educational Science and Human Movement, University of Palermo, Palermo, Sicily, Italy

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Introduction: Alongside sarcopenia, the age-related loss of muscle strength and power, known as dynapenia, increases the risk of functional disability and mortality in older adults. However, engaging in sporting activities during old age appears to enhance functional capacity. The differences in effects between athletes and sedentary individuals, as well as between genders, have yet to be fully clarified. Methods: The vertical jump test is recognized as a measure of lower limb performance with almost no learning effect. In the present study, we quantified age-related countermovement jump (CMJ) height loss in 120 subjects over 58 years old among both master athletes and sedentary counterparts, and analysed gender differences. Results: Both male and female master athletes showed significantly higher jump heights results than their sedentary counterparts (male athletes 28.5±4.3 cm vs male sedentaries 15.1±5.2 cm; p<0.01; female athletes 22.7±2.5 cm vs female sedentaries 8.2±3.3 cm; p<0.01). Female athletes were found to have higher CMJ performance than even sedentary men (p<0.01). The rate of decline in jumping ability was the same for male athletes and non-athletes, but female athletes had the shallower rate of decline of all the groups observed (2.78 cm per decade). Discussion: Sporting activity in the older age allows both men and women to perform at a higher level, with the latter also benefiting from a slower rate of decline, which can have a positive impact on functional ability and quality of life.

    Keywords: Aging, Countermovement jump, Sporting activity, gender, Inactive elderly, Lower limb strength

    Received: 01 Oct 2024; Accepted: 28 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Fernández-Peña, formiglio, Gervasi, Benelli, Bertuccioli, Russo, Giustino and Patti. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Marco Gervasi, Department of Biomolecular Sciences, University of Urbino Carlo Bo, Urbino, Italy

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