A Salutogenic perspective on resistance training : a study on healthy old adult women

Abstract: The number of people aged 60 years and over has doubled since 1980and the World Health Organization predicts that the population of over60s will reach 2 billion by the year 2050. An ageing population poses bothchallenges and opportunities for society and for individuals. Whilst theseare positive statements, increases in life spans do not directly lead to increasesin health spans. The naturally occurring ageing process can leadto reductions in functionality and, in order to address this, scholars haveargued the benefits of regularly engaging in physical activity, and especiallyresistance training. Therefore, an important challenge for modernsociety is to develop strategies that delay the onset of disease, such as interventionsthat include physical activity. This licentiate thesis investigatesolder women’s physical activity in a resistance training context and howthis affects different aspects of their health.The overall aim of the thesis is to explore healthy and physically activeolder women’s experiences of what maintains and enhances their healthafter starting resistance training.This thesis used a quantitative and a qualitative approach to investigatea group of old adult women. Data collection was structured in questionnaires(n=32) with one intervention group and one control group for thepaper I, and focus group interviews (n=14) in paper II. Paper I studied theeffects of resistance training on physically active and healthy olderwomen. Paper II relates to the women who continued to exercise after theresistance training intervention ended in order to explore their health resources.The theoretical framework used in this thesis is a movement towardshealth as explained by salutogenic theory.This thesis showed that resistance training has positive effects on psychologicalwell-being and is important because it not only benefits thosewho are physically inactive, but also those who are already physically activeand healthy.From a salutogenic perspective, physical activity provides a meaningful,comprehensible and manageable way for older women to engage in theongoing process of maintaining health.