Metabolic Costs of Daily Activities in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Abstract

This study was conducted to measure the metabolic costs of daily activities in community-dwelling adults aged over 65 years. Eighteen elderly adults performed five daily activities-walking, cleaning with a vacuum cleaner, washing dishes, and gardening (making a vegetable bed and maintaining a garden)-in a laboratory setting. The participants performed each activity for 5 minutes and then rested in a chair for 5 minutes prior to starting the next activity. They wore a portable telemetric calorimeter and a heart rate monitor during the five activities and resting periods to measure the metabolic cost and heart rate. The five daily activities were observed to be of low to moderate intensity (from 2.3 +/- 0.5 metabolic equivalents to 4.6 +/- 0.5 metabolic equivalents). Copyright (C) 2014, Taiwan Society of Geriatric Emergency & Critical Care Medicine. Published by Elsevier Taiwan LLC. All rights reserved.