Quantitative Research Critique
Introduction
The study “Exercise training program based on minimum weekly frequencies: effects on blood pressure and physical fitness in elderly hypertensive patients,” authored by De Moraes et al. is a quasi-experimental, non-controlled, quantitative study. The study took place in at the Luíza Távora Community Center in Brazil and studies how less frequent, lower intensity exercise programs can affect an elderly hypertensive patient’s blood pressure, physical fitness, and functional ability. One of the main causes of death in Brazil are cardiovascular diseases; hypertension is a significant risk factor for these and needs to be monitored, controlled, and hopefully lowered in order to reduce the morbidity
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Demographic variables in the study include age, gender, and socioeconomic class. No extraneous or confounding variables were mentioned in the article; some of the exclusion criteria were included in an effort to remove these types of variables from the study.
Problem and Purpose The research problem for this study is not clear, but can be assumed to be the lack of research on less intense and less frequent exercise programs and how they effects a person’s blood pressure, fitness level, and functional ability. The authors mentioned in the introduction that some studies had shown exercise classes occurring less often to still have a significant decrease in the patient’s blood pressure. It seemed that the authors wanted to add another study to the small pool of research already having been conducted on this topic while also including how it can affect the functional ability. The purpose of this study was to determine how well a less strenuous, twice-weekly exercise training program would produce the desired effects. This is mentioned in the introduction to the research article; it is clearly stated and easily comprehended. The author not only explains the various ways that exercise can improve the dependent variables being studied, but also how much a high level of functional ability can improve a person’s quality of life; by being able to care for themselves, it allows them to live at home
Exercise in general has been known to reep many benefits in health of the body, for example the seven components of fitness as mentioned in ‘ABC of sports and exercise medicine, third edition by Sir Roger Bannister’. (Edited by Gregory P Whyte)
Those in the intervention group reported a higher satisfaction in their quality of life than those in the control group. Physical health benefits such as an increase of VO2max and minutes engaged in physical activity. Overall, the results suggest that exercise can potentially be used to increase the quality of life, physical fitness level, and improve mental state.
Exercise or activity can improve your long term health and prevent risk of several diseases. The German Research
Cardiovascular and metabolic diseases are a growing problem around the world today. Not only do diseases such as diabetes and heart disease affect individuals and their lifestyles, they also affect the economy, politics, education and the professional work environment. 20-26% of individuals in the United States live with heart disease, and obesity and high blood pressure compose the greatest factors for developing this disease [20]. Studies have shown a direct correlation between the amount of sedentary time and cardiovascular and metabolic disease risk, regardless of baseline measurements [20]. Thus, increase in physical activity will decrease cardiometabolic risk factors [8]. Several studies indicate a positive correlation between physical activity and decreased cardiometabolic risk markers [2,4,11,16]. However, we now know that an individual who is getting the recommended physical activity per day can still have a large amount of sedentary time.
It is a well-kenned fact that exercise is very propitious to the body’s overall health. Exercise has been shown to enhance the circulation of blood throughout the body, relinquish solicitousness, boost self-esteem, and ultimately is utilized as a treatment for noetic illnesses.
The SF-12 questionnaire was used to assess the health status of the subjects. The data was looked at sorting by gender differences and the activity level categories as they wanted to know these differences. The results showed a significant effect between physical activity levels and health status but there was not a significant change when looking at health status when separating by gender. The effect found between physical activity levels and mental health showed that 150 minutes was sufficient to increase mental health. For all physical activity over 150 minutes there was not an increase to show the subjects continued to increase their health status.
Due to continuous changes in Australia’s demographics, the urgency of helping older adults to maintain high quality of life (QOL) has become evident. Life expectancy in Australia has been increasing and an average Australian is now expected to live to 82.2 years of age. The proportion of people age 65 and over increased from 11.8% to 14.7% during the period 1994-2014, and these numbers are more likely to grow in the future. This extended survival often results in declining health, which is not an inevitable part of aging. However, this does not necessarily translate into poor QOL. Lifestyle plays a major role in determining the QOL in older adults and exercise arguably is the major determinant of health. This paper discusses how exercise can effect the QOL life in older adults.
A limitation of cross sectional studies is that the design is reliant on data which has been collected for other purposes and methods adopted cannot be controlled or changed. Studies analysed in this aimed to find methods of improving physical fitness and counteract inactivity with the use of pedometers and participants were selected via convenience and volunteer sampling (Proença et al, 2012, Zabatiero et al., 2013)).Thus participants who volunteered were most likely to have been physically active, have greater exercise capacity and thus more willing to take part than those who were less physically active. This contradicts this study as researchers are trying to find a full representation of different levels of physical activities and exercise capacity within the elderly population. This is a limitation as it does not provide full representation of elderly population and does not account for those who have been physically fit but less active. As a result, this study lacks internal and external validity as it has poor generalisability and participants are not fully representative of the general elderly
The purpose of the research proposal is to test the effectiveness of a advanced practice nurse (APN)- led study focusing on physical exercise as a means to decrease blood pressure measurements in adults between the ages of 20 and 25 who were obese or overweight in childhood, and remain so, and have developed hypertension that can lead to early morbidity.
Many people are not getting adequate amounts of exercise and it is costing grave health problems such as diabetes and obesity. There has been an on-going, major concern in the medical field about the relationship of exercise and cardiorespiratory health and to better understand this correlation, this study analyzes the effect that exercise has on heart rate, stroke volume, total peripheral resistance, and oxygen consumption. I hypothesize that those who regularly exercise will overall have lower heart rates, increased stroke volume, lower total peripheral resistance, and higher oxygen consumption. To test my hypothesis, two groups were obtained: active, those who exercised more than seven hours a week, and inactive, those who did not exercise at all. Test subjects were asked to exercise on a bicycle ergometer until exhaustion as intensity increased every minute. In this experiment, both active and inactive groups observed an increase in heart rate, stroke volume, and oxygen consumption and a decrease in total peripheral resistance as time progressed. Overall, active individuals had lower heart rates, larger stroke volumes, and lower total peripheral resistance compared to inactive individuals. Surprisingly at rest, both groups were shown to have similar oxygen consumption rates, but at peak, the rate of the active group was much higher. Our results indicate a strong association between regular exercise and cardiorespiratory variables which stresses the importance
These patterns assess an individual’s health status to see if there is a possible problem the may need the assistance of a nursing intervention. It uses the strengths found in a situation to aid in solving the identified problems (Gordon, 2008,1). The health pattern that will be addressed in this paper to help with the hypertension prevention is the Activity-Exercise Pattern.
The study participants included 55,137 men and women ranging from eighteen to one hundred years old. The study was executed by performing a compressive exam on each of the participants. The exam included a resting blood pressure, total cholesterol, blood glucose, BMI, and cardiorespiratory fitness level which was measured with an exercise test using a treadmill. A questionnaire was then administered to assess each individual's level of physical activity, how often each individual runs each week and the duration of each run in minutes. Participants were monitored from the date of the baseline examination through their date of death. The results concluded that in comparison to nonrunners, runners had a forty five percent lower risk of all-cause mortality, and mortality caused by cardiovascular disease. This association was concluded regardless of age, sex, smoking alcohol history, BMI, or comorbidities. In addition non-runners had an average lower life expectancy of approximately three
In this article, Vincent Gremeaux, provides information on how as humans age our bodies start to degrade and how as we get older we need to develop health habits such as regular exercise and a healthy diet to make sure we live a longer and happier life. He outlines the specifics of exercise that involves cardiorespiratory and muscle fitness as well as flexibility and balance training. He notes that more studies are required on the elderly to provide specific recommendations for this age group but the benefits are gained from a long term regular fitness.
The benefits of physical exercise in humans far outweighs the harmful effects associated with exercise. A prescription of physical activity has been known to delay the onset or prevention of many chronic diseases. An improvement in heart function, lower blood pressure and improve functional capacity is noticed after just a few weeks of exercising. Physical activity will also result in an increase of lean muscle mass, promote weight maintenance, increased flexibility, and a generally stronger more fit individual. Conversely, exercise when preformed strenuously or obsessively can counteract such positive effects, bringing up some issues like oxidative stresses, injuries, and
Adding exercises into one’s daily routines can change their whole lifestyle. Many people look at exercise as being something just for people who want to lose weight or to become muscle bound, but there are a great deal of benefits that can be received from exercising regularly. Of course gaining muscle and losing fat are the two most popular reasons that usually attract people to the gym, but they make up a small part of the potential benefits that can be achieved with exercise. There are several ways in which I have benefited in my life from exercising regularly, besides just making me bigger and stronger. It has made me become more organized, helped me make better decisions, and motivated me to take on new challenges in life.