GARDENING AS THE OPTIONAL PHYSICAL ACTIVITY FOR SENIORS

Purpose Physical activity (PA) insufficiency has been an up-to-date topic for individuals regardless their age. PA is particularly important to the old population group. That is the reason why we aim our study at seniors. Complementary PA for seniors is usually implemented as a part of various intervention programs. The question arising is if the intervention program could be a substitute for a natural working activity; and subsequently, if a working activity can bring sufficient and diverse PA for seniors. Our study wants to prove that gardening, and specifically viticulture (care of vineyard, cultivation of vineyard), can be used as an alternative PA for seniors. Methods Our research has been designed as a case study; based on one-year observation. The subject of the study was a 64-year old man living in the South-Moravian region (CZE). The observation was carried out in an observation-suitable period (spring - autumn 2016). Basic statistic methods were further used for the quantitative analysis. The energy expenditure of working activities was set due to work of Ainsworth et al. (1993) and Novotny (2003). Results Within the period of one year the subject of the study had visited the vineyard 48 times. The mean visit duration was longer than 3 hours and the mean energy expenditure was of 435 kJ (160 kcal) per visit. Within this year the subject of the study had implemented almost 20 different types of operations consisting of various abilities: endurance, strengthendurance, flexibility and balance. Some of the operations required fine-motor-skill involvement. Conclusions Firstly, our study shows that a suitably selected working activity can completely substitute intervention programs for seniors. Secondly, a positive motivational aspect of gardening has been observed - viticulture that could be connected to meaningful usage of motion. However, at the same time, it is necessary to mention that the feeling of "need" to complete some working operations can also have it drawbacks. The work overload; and unilateral activity may bring imbalance and other health complications.