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Walking is an essential component of outdoor mobility, and recognised as one of the best forms of physical activity for older adults. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between socio-demographic factors, coping resources, self-esteem and health status with the outdoor walking ability of people aged 55-79 years living in the community. The hypothesis is that there is a positive association between outdoor walking ability and coping, self-esteem and health status. A nationally-representative sample of 3,069 women and men answered questions regarding socio-demographic attributes, coping resources, self-esteem, health status and outdoor walking ability. The mean age of the respondents was 65.6 years. Around one-half of the sample were women, and around one-half were aged 65 or more years. One-third (32.3%) of the sample were married or cohabiting. Regarding outdoor walking ability, only 0.7 per cent of the respondents were not able to walk at all, and 80.8 per cent could walk at least one kilometre without a pause. Binary logistic multivariate regression analyses showed that those who had good outdoor walking ability (one kilometre or more) were significantly younger than those who did not, and that they were predominantly men, partnered or married, not in paid work, experienced significantly little pain, had better self-reported health and higher perceived coping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This article examines the reliability of the Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE) in a representative sample of Norwegian women and men. PASE is a brief and easily scored instrument to assess physical activity in epidemiological studies of persons age 65 years and older. Methods: A random sample (N = 343) of Norwegian women and men aged 67 years and over completed PASE. In addition, demographic information and health status was provided. Results: The mean PASE scores were higher in men than in women (men were more active than women), and higher in those aged 67-75 years compared with those aged 76 years and older. Internal consistency of PASE as measured by Cronbach's coefficient alpha was 0.73. Three hundred and twenty-seven subjects also completed follow-up questionnaires 3 days and 3 weeks later. The test-retest coefficient (Pearson's) reliability was 0.997 for the 3-day interval and 0.933 for the 3-week interval. Conclusion: The results show that PASE is an easily scored, reliable instrument for use in epidemiological studies to assess physical activity among Norwegian elderly men and women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines some tensions related to how male bodybuilders, ski jumpers, and soccer players view their bodies. Both ski jumpers and soccer players displayed a functional orientation toward their bodies, while the ski jumpers strove for a thin and light body that would improve the length of their jumps. Soccer players also had somewhat diverse body ideals, as the game requires different skills. Bodybuilders were primarily concerned with appearance, especially size. There also was an association between concern about appearance and dissatisfaction with one's body. Ski jumpers and soccer players were less concerned than the bodybuilders were with their public image and were also more satisfied with their looks. The study indicates that athletes' perceptions of their bodies depend upon the sporting contexts, and that there are tensions between athletes' perceptions of their bodies and the cultural ideals associated with men's bodies at large. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]