It is well known that physical exercise is important to promote physical and cognitive health in older population. However, inconsistent research findings were shown regarding exercise intensity, particularly on whether low-intensity exercise (1.5 metabolic equivalent tasks (METs) to 3.0 METs) can improve physical and cognitive health of older adults. This systematic review aimed to fill this research gap. The objective of this study is to conduct a systematic review of the effectiveness of low-intensity exercise interventions on physical and cognitive health of older adults. Published research was identified in various databases including CINAHL, MEDLINE, PEDro, PubMed, Science Direct, SPORTDiscus, and Web of Science. Research studies published from January 01, 1994 to February 01, 2015 were selected for examination. Studies were included if they were published in an academic peer-reviewed journal, published in English, conducted as randomized controlled trial (RCT) or quasi-experimental studies with appropriate comparison groups, targeted participants aged 65 or above, and prescribed with low-intensity exercise in at least one study arm. Two reviewers independently extracted the data (study, design, participants, intervention, and results) and assessed the quality of the selected studies. Fifteen studies met the inclusion criteria. Quality index ranged from 15 to 18 mean = 18.3 with a full score of 28, indicating a moderate quality. Most of the outcomes reported in these studied were lower limb muscle strength (n = 9), balancing (n = 7), flexibility (n = 4), and depressive symptoms (n = 3). Out of the 15 selected studies, 11 reported improvement in flexibility, balancing, lower limb muscle strength, or depressive symptoms by low-intensity exercises. The current literature suggests the effectiveness of low-intensity exercise on improved physical and cognitive health for older adults. It may be a desired intensity level in promoting health among older adults with better compliance, lower risk of injuries, and long-term sustainability.

Background. Falls are common in older adults and have many adverse consequences. In an attempt to prevent further incidents, elder fallers may consciously monitor and control their movements. Ironically, conscious movement control may be one factor that contributes to disruption of automaticity of walking, increasing the likelihood of subsequent falls. Objective. The Movement Specific Reinvestment Scale (MSRS), which aims to measure the propensity for movement-related self-consciousness and for conscious processing of movement, was used to try to discriminate elder fallers from non-fallers. Methods. Fifty-two volunteer older adults, aged 65 or above, participated. In addition to the 10-item MSRS, participants completed the Mini-Mental State Examination questionnaire, Timed “Up & Go” test, and Four Word Short-Term Memory test. Demographics including age, gender, and history of falling were collected. Results. Elder fallers scored significantly higher than non-fallers on both the movement self-consciousness and conscious motor processing components of the MSRS. Logistic regression revealed a significant association between the MSRS (conscious motor processing component) and “faller or non-faller” status. Conclusions. Elder fallers may have a higher propensity to consciously control their movements. The MSRS shows potential as a clinical tool with which to predict falls in the elderly, as well as to gain insight into the perception of safety during walking in any impaired patient.

Background: Parent-child exercises involve children and parents to do workout together and have positive effects on physical and mental health. We developed a mobile app on parent-child exercises called Family Move, which combines coaching videos with game features such as points and level system to enhance the health and wellbeing of both children and parents through parent-child exercises. This pilot pre-post study investigated whether the Family Move app-based intervention had a positive effect on children’s health-related quality of life (HRQOL), psychosocial wellbeing, and physical activity (PA) level. Methods: We recruited 67 parent-child pairs. During the 8-week intervention, these pairs were invited to perform parent-child exercises using the Family Move app. Points were automatically added to the user account after viewing a coaching video. In-game ranking was available to enhance user engagement. Parent proxy-report questionnaires on children’s HRQOL, psychosocial wellbeing, and PA were administered at baseline and 1- and 6-month follow-up. Paired samples t-tests were conducted to evaluate post-intervention changes in child outcomes (HRQOL, psychosocial wellbeing, and PA). Multiple linear regressions were used to examine these changes as a function of in-game ranking. Results: 52 (78%) viewed at least one coaching video in the Family Move app. Children’s PA level significantly increased at 1-month (d = 0.32, p = 0.030) and 6-month (d = 0.30, p = 0.042) follow-up, whereas their psychosocial problems declined at 6-month follow-up (d = 0.35, p = 0.005). Higher in-game ranking was significantly associated with fewer psychosocial problems at 1-month follow-up (β = − 0.15, p = 0.030). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the Family Move app could be a possible intervention to increase children’s PA level and psychosocial wellbeing through parent-child exercise. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT03279354, registered September 11, 2017 (Prospectively registered).

Background: Balance impairment causes frequent falls in older adults, and preventing falls remains challenging. Dual-task (DT) training reduces falls by improving balance, but the precise theory is not fully understood. This review aims to explore the theories underlying the effectiveness of DT in improving balance and reducing falls in older adults. Methods: Eleven electronic databases were searched from database inception to June 2022. Two reviewers independently performed study screening and data extraction. The risk of bias (RoB) in the included studies was assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration RoB 2 tool. Results: The searches yielded 1478 citations, of which 30 studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review. Twenty-two of the 30 included studies utilized the motor-cognitive type of DT for training, while six used motor-motor and two utilized cognitive–cognitive DT. The included studies reported 20 different theories to explain the effectiveness of DT for improving balance and reducing falls in older adults. The predominant theory identified in the included studies was attention theory (n = 14). Overall, 26 studies reported improved balance and five studies found a reduction in fall incidence following DT training. Balance and falls improved significantly in 15 motor-cognitive DT intervention studies. Conclusion: Attention shifting between two tasks is reported to occur following DT training. Motor-cognitive DT training improves balance and reduces fall incidence in older adults by shifting attention based on the difficulty and priority of a task from the motor to the cognitive task.

Research in psychology suggests that provision of an instruction by analogy can enhance acquisition and understanding of knowledge. Limited research has been conducted to test this proposition in motor learning by children. The purpose of the present study was to examine the feasibility of analogy instructions in motor skill acquisition by children. Thirty‐two children were randomly assigned to one of the two instruction protocols: analogy and explicit instruction protocols for a two‐week rope skipping training. Each participant completed a pretest (Lesson 1), three practice sessions (Lesson 2–4), a posttest and a secondary task test (Lesson 5). Children in the analogy protocol displayed better rope skip performance than those in the explicit instruction protocol (p < .001). Moreover, a cognitive secondary task test indicated that children in the analogy protocol performed more effectively, whereas children in the explicit protocol displayed decrements in performance. Analogy learning may aid children to acquire complex motor skills, and have potential benefits related to reduced cognitive processing requirements.

Research highlights the detrimental effect that directing too much conscious attention toward movement can have on postural control. While this concept has received support from many studies, recent evidence demonstrates that this principle does not always translate to aging clinical populations. Given the increasing clinical interest in this topic, the current study evaluated if the original notion (that an internal focus results in compromised balance performance) is upheld in young and older adults during a challenging balance task where we are able to objectively corroborate changes in attentional focus; using an electroencephalography (EEG) method previously identified as an objective indicator of conscious movement control. This method assesses the neural coherence, or “communication,” between T3 (verbal-analytical) and Fz (motor-planning) regions of the brain. Thirty-nine young and 40 older adults performed a challenging balance task while holding a 2-meter pole under two randomized conditions: Baseline and Internal focus of attention (directing attention internally toward movement production). Results showed that young adults demonstrated increased EEG T3-Fz coherence in conjunction with increased sway path during the Internal focus condition. However, no significant differences were observed in older adults between conditions for any measure. The current study provides supporting evidence for the detrimental effect that adopting an Internal focus can have on postural control—especially in populations able to govern these processes in a relatively “automatic” manner (e.g., young adults). However, this work illustrates that such observations may not readily translate between populations and are not robust to age-related changes. Further work is necessary to examine mechanisms underlying this clear translational issue.