Self-perceived health, physical state and motor and body competences in Spanish elderly people

Abstract

In the last few years it has become evident how the populations of the elderly in developed countries are increasing faster and faster, and are becoming associated with a determined quality of life. This demographic change is a very interesting research topic since this aging is related to quality of life. The current study is about the existing relationship between health, physical state and motor and body competences in people of over 65years of age living in Spain; and is based on self- awareness. The total sample was made up of 933 people (57.72% women and 42.28% men). This study is based on a regular survey carried out with different respondents. The following aspects were considered in the calculation of the sample: the population was finite; so the most unfavorable case was taken in the population variance where P and Q are equal accounting for 50% each, the confidence interval was 95.5% and the margin of error +/- 3.27%. The results show that health is directly related to physical and motor competences. So, by self-evaluating their health and physical state in positive terms, the subjects feel like moving more and more, and they have a better conception of themselves; so raising their self-esteem improves their quality of life.