Effects of a 12-week VR Intervention on the Functional Fitness of Adults of Different Age Ranges

Effects of a 12-week Virtual Reality-based Fitness Intervention on the Functional Fitness of Adults of Different Age Ranges

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of a 12-week VR fitness intervention on the functional fitness of adults of different age ranges.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Virtual Reality; Functional Fitness
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Virtual reality exercise intervention

Detailed Description

Previous studies have shown age-related decreases in physical activity and functional fitness among older adults. Virtual Reality (VR) exercise programs are currently used in leisure and entertainment to improve the physical health of older adults. However, VR exercise in assessing physical health or functional fitness in older adults of different age ranges is rare. To fill this research gap, VR exercise was to assess functional fitness improvement in young and middle-aged participants.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 86
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Taiwan
  • Taipei, Taiwan, 106
    • NTNU

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 65 years to 84 years (Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• aged more 65 and less 84 years
• with no listening/vision impairments
• who did not have any history of illness based on their response to the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q)
• interested in the virtual reality exercise

Exclusion Criteria:

• age less than 65 or more than 84 years
• disability and unable to live independently

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Intervention group.; The experimental group attended a VR exercise routine twice a week for 12 weeks. Device:1 computer virtual reality online software and 3 large projectors were used to project videos on the wall in a wrap-around state.	Other: Virtual reality exercise intervention; The experimental group performed a 75-90-minute VR exercise routine twice a week for 12 weeks.
No Intervention: Control group.; Participants in the control group received no intervention and had normal daily activites.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Senior Fitness Test	The Senior Fitness Test was used to assess the functional fitness of the participants. The test has six items and evaluations of four physical functional dimensions using the following movements: Back scratch was assessed for upper body flexibility (units of measurement: cm). Chair sit-and-reach movement evaluates lower body flexibility (cm). Arm curl movement assesses upper body strength (times). Chair-stand test evaluates lower body muscle strength (times). 2-minute step exercise evaluates cardiorespiratory fitness (times). 8-foot up-and-go evaluates balance and agility, (sec). The back scratch, chair-and-reach, arm curl, chair stand, and 2-minute step of higher scores mean better functional fitness. The 8-foot up-and-go of higher scores means poorer functional fitness. The study measures the change in functional fitness of older adults from a 1-week baseline to 12 weeks (i.e., exercise intervention phase).	Senior Functional fitness to specify a period "change" is being assessed. The time points for assessment were week 1 (pre-test), and 12 (post-test).

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Weight and Kilograms test	Measure older adults of height by attaching cloth ruler tape to the wall (e.g., height in centimeters). The weight of the elderly is measured using commercially available electronic weighing machines. (e.g., weight in kilograms). The height and weight measurements of older people are aggregated to produce a reported value (e.g., weight and height will be combined to report BMI in kg/m2).	Not assessing change.The test was only a one-time measure at week 1(pre-test).

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: National Taiwan Normal University
• Investigators: Study Director: Lee Szu-Hsien, Research Ethics Committee, National Taiwan University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): August 4, 2020
• Primary Completion (Actual): February 6, 2021
• Study Completion (Actual): February 10, 2021

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 23, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 12, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): October 17, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): October 17, 2022
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 12, 2022
• Last Verified: October 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Exercise; Virtual reality; Old adults
• Other Study ID Numbers: litingwang_1

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No