AUTHOR=Mack-Inocentio Damien , Menai Mehdi , Doré Eric , Doreau Bastien , Gaillard Camille , Finaud Julien , Pereira Bruno , Duché Pascale 

TITLE=Large-Scale Assessment of Health-Related Physical Fitness in French Older Adults: Feasibility and Validity

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=8

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2020.487308

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2020.487308

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Objectives:</bold> This study aims to assess the validity, internal consistency, implementation, and feasibility of a sequence of tests, the Vitality Test Battery, designed to measure physical fitness, at a large scale in French older adults.</p><p><bold>Methods:</bold> A total of 528 volunteers (age ≥60 years) took the battery of 10 tests: 6-min walk, trunk strength, hand grip strength, medicine ball throwing, 30-s chair stand, flexibility, balance, plate tapping, ruler drop, and dual task.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> Internal consistency was high, with the Cronbach alpha coefficients at around 0.77, explaining 64% of the variance. The test–retest correlations (0.3–0.6) between the items were acceptable and displayed an internal consistency property. Although five components explained 65% of the variance, all the items were kept because their eigenvalues were near to 0.9. External consistency was validated by a significant decrease in fitness scores (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001) with age and body mass index.</p><p><bold>Discussion:</bold> The Vitality Test Battery is a safe, valid tool for assessing physical fitness in persons aged over 60 years.</p>