Indicadores de fragilidade e nível de atividade física de idosos Frailty indicators and physical activity level of the elderly

Objective: To verify the frailty indicators in older adults, according to the level of physical activity. Methods: A descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted with 229 older adults, practitioners of physical exercise programs. The frailty indicators collected were age, number of diseases, history of falls, body mass index, grip strength, lower limb strength, upper limb strength and endurance. The anthropometric measurements and the data were collected by questionnaire and physical tests. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire was used to classify the physical activity level. Descriptive and inferential statistics (p=0.05) was used. Results: Frailty indicators lower limb strength (X =8.280, p=0.007) and risks of falls (X =4.221, p=0.040) showed significant association with physical activity level of the elderly. The lesser active elderly were classified as “bad” on lower limb strength (81.8%) and suffered from falls (66.7%). Conclusion: The lesser active elderly had frailty indicators related to lower limb strength and falls.