Heinz Mechling

Aging and inactivity—capitalizing on the protective effect of planned physical activity in old age

The paper discusses two parallel biocultural trends—aging and inactivity. The principle of economy in movement in modern society versus the dependency of human beings on movement for their development and health is described. The results of inactivity are sometimes mistakenly considered irreversible losses caused by aging, but in actual fact, inactivity accelerates the irreversible losses caused by the aging process. The paper then describes the contribution of physical activity in terms of increasing positive aspects or decreasing risks: increasing life expectancy or decreasing risk of mortality, increasing cardiovascular fitness or decreasing risk of cardiovascular disease, increasing muscle mass or decreasing falls and instability, improving cognitive performance or reducing cognitive decline and neurological disorders, and improving well-being or reducing depression. The optimal dose of physical activity is then described, followed by recommendations for further research on mechanisms determining physical activity behavior.

Movement Sonification: Effects on Motor Learning beyond Rhythmic Adjustments

Motor learning is based on motor perception and emergent perceptual-motor representations. A lot of behavioral research is related to single perceptual modalities but during last two decades the contribution of multimodal perception on motor behavior was discovered more and more. A growing number of studies indicates an enhanced impact of multimodal stimuli on motor perception, motor control and motor learning in terms of better precision and higher reliability of the related actions. Behavioral research is supported by neurophysiological data, revealing that multisensory integration supports motor control and learning. But the overwhelming part of both research lines is dedicated to basic research. Besides research in the domains of music, dance and motor rehabilitation, there is almost no evidence for enhanced effectiveness of multisensory information on learning of gross motor skills. To reduce this gap, movement sonification is used here in applied research on motor learning in sports. Based on the current knowledge on the multimodal organization of the perceptual system, we generate additional real-time movement information being suitable for integration with perceptual feedback streams of visual and proprioceptive modality. With ongoing training, synchronously processed auditory information should be initially integrated into the emerging internal models, enhancing the efficacy of motor learning. This is achieved by a direct mapping of kinematic and dynamic motion parameters to electronic sounds, resulting in continuous auditory and convergent audiovisual or audio-proprioceptive stimulus arrays. In sharp contrast to other approaches using acoustic information as error-feedback in motor learning settings, we try to generate additional movement information suitable for acceleration and enhancement of adequate sensorimotor representations and processible below the level of consciousness. In the experimental setting, participants were asked to learn a closed motor skill (technique acquisition of indoor rowing). One group was treated with visual information and two groups with audiovisual information (sonification vs. natural sounds). For all three groups learning became evident and remained stable. Participants treated with additional movement sonification showed better performance compared to both other groups. Results indicate that movement sonification enhances motor learning of a complex gross motor skill—even exceeding usually expected acoustic rhythmic effects on motor learning.

Dementia and physical activity

Already today, the increase in life expectancy and the accelerated increase in longevity—the number of centenarians will triple from the year 2000 to 2050 [15]—confronts us with questions which are not easily answered. But what we can realize from social and economic development is that we will be forced not only to cure diseases but much more to prevent them. This particularly applies to those diseases which coincide with the aging development as Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. There is not only need of reliable and valid dementia diagnosis [8] and of effective medication but there is also an urgent need to discover and implement effective physical activity interventions. With the worldwide demographic trend of population aging, Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia will become an increasingly major public health problem among the elderly. The term “dementia” describes a syndrome associated with a range of diseases which are characterized by the progressive impairment of brain functions, including language, memory, perception, personality, and cognitive skills. These diseases lead to a decline in the ability to perform everyday activities. These declines in mental function may manifest themselves through different symptoms at various times. Alzheimer’s disease is themost common form of dementia, estimated to be responsible for 70% of dementia cases. It is followed by vascular dementia as probably the next common type. Depression affects up to 40% of patients with dementia, usually when dementia is mild or moderate, andmay cause vegetative symptoms, e.g., withdrawal, anorexia, weight loss, or insomnia (cf. [12]). Wimo et al. [18] estimated the worldwide occurrence of dementia in 2000 and during the period 1950–2050. The calculations were based on worldwide demographics of the elderly and age-specific prevalence and incidence values of dementia, estimated from a meta-analysis. The worldwide number of persons with dementia in 2000 was estimated at about 25 million persons. Almost half of the demented persons (46%) lived in Asia, 30% in Europe, 12% in North America, 7% in Latin America, and 5% in Africa. About 6.1% of the population of 65 years of age and older suffered from dementia (about 0.5% of the worldwide population) and 59% were female. Incidence rates were recently calculated from United Nations estimations and projections from prevalence, remission, and mortality data by Ferri et al. [4]. Though evidence from well-planned representative epidemiological surveys is scarce in many regions, they found that 24–30 million people have dementia today, with four to six million new cases of dementia every year (one new case every 7 s). The number of people affected will double every 20 years to 81–100 million by 2040. Most people with dementia live in developing countries—60% in 2001 and rising to 71% by 2040. Rates of increase are not uniform; numbers in developed countries are forecasted to increase by 100% between 2001 and 2040 and by more than 300% in India, China, and their south Asian and western Pacific neighbors. These detailed estimates seem to constitute the best currently available basis for policymaking, planning, and allocation of health and welfare resources. We must conclude that dementia is one of the most common causes of institutionalization, morbidity, and mortality among the elderly and we have to face the obvious consequences. Eur Rev Aging Phys Act (2008) 5:1–3 DOI 10.1007/s11556-008-0033-6

Editorial (EURAPA 2006-1)

The scientific access to the field of aging has been developing tremendously fast during the past decades. It was also shown that aging and its manifold facets demand contributions from different disciplines and more and more problem-oriented interdisciplinary research. This seems to be true for basic as well as for applied research. In discipline-oriented research, there are excellent journals and publications related to the study of the aging processes. In applied research, the focus is primarily on the various forms of intervention which contribute to the delay of the aging processes and their consequences for physical functioning, cognitive state, social participation and the prevention of diseases, falls and frailty. Individual well-being and quality of life establish the objectives for interventions. Physical activity has turned out to be one of the most important forms of behavioral intervention to influence the aging processes. During the past decade, research on the study of aging and activity, particularly on aging and physical activity, has contributed to the expanding the body of knowledge in this field of study. Orientation in theories, methods and relevant research results has become necessary. Beside the existing journals for aging, gerontology, geriatrics and even physical activity which primarily publish original contributions, there has grown a need for a review journal in the field of physical activity and aging. Academic and tutorial reviews should provide new opportunities not only for the orientation between disciplines before starting new research projects but also for the orientation of graduate students, practitioners and decision makers in the field. Academic reviews will yield different results from one discipline or from different combined disciplines. They shall identify white spots, prepare the ground for integrative and problem-oriented questions and stimulate interdisciplinary research. This situation has led to EGREPA’s (www.egrepa. org) decision to tackle the new journal BEuropean Review of Aging and Physical Activity (EURAPA)’’. It was started on the initiative of the members of the Board of EGREPA. It came into existence with the cooperative efforts of individuals, the editorial board, guest reviewers and authors. We were proud to launch the first volume on occasion of the 6th World Congress on Aging and Physical Activity in London, Ontario, Canada in 2004. The second volume came out in 2005 on the initiative and basis of EGREPA (www.eurapa. org) as well. Although Europe appears in the title and the journal also takes into account that Europe is moving closer together, this is in no way a restriction— science is international and open! To initiate a new journal, it is essential to have a professional basis for its further existence and development. Therefore, we addressed Springer Publishers already in 2004. Springer Publishers have shown an interest in publishing EURAPA, and negotiations could be finalized in 2005. You can see and hold in your hands the result of this process. We are convinced that this is the start of a new and successful era of EURAPA. We would like to express our personal gratitude to Rüdiger Gebauer, President of Global Publishing, and to Dr. William F. Curtis, Editorial Director (Springer), Eur Rev Aging Phys Act (2006) 3:1–2 DOI 10.1007/s11556-006-0005-7

What we need to know, where we need to go

EURAPA—State of the art: In 2010, the boards of EGREPA,EURAPA (as the Official Journal of the European Group forResearch into Elderly and Physical Activity), and SpringerPublishers agreed not only to publish review papers but alsoaccept original research papers. Opening with volume 8,number 1, 2011, EURAPA announced also to accept newmanuscriptcategories[6].Sinceitsearlybeginning,thescopeof EURAPA has been defined by two lines of research:biomedical and behavioral sciences. Thus, research papershave not been limited to specific scientific disciplines. Thedifferentandstillhighlydiversifyingareasofresearchinagingare welcomed in EURAPA. With the inclusion of originalpapers, this idea was accepted by versatile scientific disci-plines.Thisopennessformanyperspectivesinagingresearchand the change in publication policy has led to an increase inpapers submitted. The range of contributions has spread fromdifferent approaches in basic to a variety of perspectives inapplied sciences. In order to concentrate and strengthen thebroad range of perspectives, the Editors-in-Chief have addi-tionally initiated special issues which seem to be of greatimportance and allow fostering topics underrepresented inthe papers submitted to or already published in EURAPA.Special issues focusing on new topics will be continued andalso be supported in the future. The editorial board welcomesproposalsfornewtopicsandapplicationsforguesteditorshipsfor future issues.Special issues: We invite colleagues active in basic sci-ence to deal not only with the aging brain—cognitive,perceptual, and energetic stimulations [5, 7]—but also withextended new topics as epigenetics and environmental in-fluences on aging, embodiment and aging, and neurophys-iological (neuroimaging), physiological, and biomechanical(especially assessment andlong-term monitoring of physicalactivity) research methods.Colleagues from behavioral and applied sciences areinvited for topics and act as guest editors dealing with testand measurement, and diagnostic instruments: developmentof new as well as evaluation, improvement, and adaptationof existing tests. This applies also to questionnaires relatedto subjectivewell-being,quality oflife,andphysicalactivitydata if we regard their use in specific groups such as de-mented people, physically handicapped, and fall-endangered people. A fall-related diagnostic paper has justbeen put online. The humanities are urgently expected tocontribute. They should offer their knowledge on methods“how to reach differentgenerations andtargetgroups”basedon psychological, pedagogical, “geragogical,” and socialknowledge.Results from basic and applied research should help toovercome still existing deficits in our knowledge on the“dose–response” relationship of physical activity for differ-ent situations and different target groups and samples. Asynopsis from an interdisciplinary point of view and the willof scientific disciplines to cooperate will in the long termcontribute to arriving at useful conclusions and will thuslead to efficient intervention programs.Special issue 1: The first special issue from the behav-ioral sciences gave attention to the “Socio-economic pat-terns of sport demand and aging” [3]. It focused on thedeterminants of physical activity and sport participation,the effects of sport expenditure, and economic determinants.For behavioral considerations and sociopolitical decisions,this perspective is strongly related to questions of how toincrease participation of elderly in physical activity andsport. Questions of how to communicate and distributenew and already existing programs are considered.Answers to the influence of environmental conditions,space, and facilities for physical activities of the elderly withtheir socioeconomic relevance are taken into account.

Special issue—socioeconomic perspective on physical activity and aging

Browsing the different areas listed in the EURAPA homepage, you will find a broad scope of topics related to physical activity and aging (PAA). They encompass the narrow sense of PAA covering only protective and therapeutical factors or exercise programs. New scientific and sociopolitical developments demonstrate that PAA has become more and more related to questions of society and economy. This broader perspective includes healthand safety-enhancing effects and age-related diseases such as osteoporosis, dementia, depression, and falls (their prevention, consequences, and costs). Beyond these topics, home and residential situation are regarded. This society-oriented focus of PAA leads to research differentiations, as represented in the papers of this issue, but also to the individual perspective considering the socialindividual, psychological situation, and the psychosocial background of personal well-being. Considering topical and future research and looking beyond our own borders, these perspectives could be integrated in the emerging and undoubtedly highly relevant field of epigenetics. Changes in gene expression as responses to behavioral and environmental exposures are researched in epigenetics. Epigenetic mechanisms are active in the brain throughout lifetime. This perspective could contribute to explainingmechanisms of disease and aging. Interdisciplinary research between epigenetics and the socioeconomic perspectives on PAA will become more significant in the future in order to find significant factors and mechanisms with which to stimulate, influence, and regulate the quantity and quality of physical activity in our aging societies. We would like to invite our readership to submit articles on the highly topical subject of epigenetics in combination with biomedical, behavioral, and socioeconomic perspectives of PAA. We are delighted, and indeed very grateful, that Dr. Breuer and his contributing colleagues—with their different orientations—accepted the challenge for this special issue and introduced this important background of the socioeconomic perspective to EURAPA. The reader will find some more papers in this issue which are not directly related to the topic of the special issue.

Editorial—aging and physical activity in the focus of science

The worldwide increase in life expectancy and particularly the increase in centenarians in our societies are the characteristics of a situation of which there is no parallel in human history. But this aging of our populations does not mean a catastrophe at all—as is sometimes thought. It is the logical consequence of our socio-cultural success story in the last centuries. This development poses many questions and many challenges for our societies. Adequate rational answers and solutions to these questions coming up in such a situation must and can be found. These answers and solutions must be rationally and empirically supported—this is the primary challenge for researchers in our field. The wide field of gerontology, of which aging and physical activity are an important part, distinguishes itself by interdisciplinarity. From the point of view of aging and physical activity, three perspectives are central: The biomedical one, the behavioral/social one, and the technological one. The biomedical perspective should focus on basic research. It should integrate new results from basic research to support ways of solutions for pressing age-dependent limitations or diseases and for the improvement of interventions. Despite the great achievements that the biomedical and technological sciences have to their credit, the main point must be the human behavior and the behavioral change that must not be delayed any longer. By our behavior and behavioral change, we can influence the key elements of an autonomous and successful aging—immediately and directly. New solutions should also come from technologically oriented basic and applied research (bionics, robotics, prosthetics, and ergonomic aids) to compensate age-related limitations and deficits—but technology should only be used if absolutely unavoidable. These three paths of research have to be combined to arrive at a successful gerontological support for the individual and the society. Behavior and behavioral change in the form of physical activity, nutrition, and social activity are closely related to the health situation in our societies. In view of the socio-demographic development, it is necessary that for preventive and therapeutical reasons, adequate behavior and behavioral changes should be implemented from childhood to old age. We need to know which environmental and behavioral conditions have a detrimental effect in the course of aging and which behavior will have a positive influence on the development of good health and successful aging. To show the protective influence that physical activity, nutrition, and social activity have on healthy aging, it is necessary that these variables should be considered from the point of view of genetics (cf. Sagiv’s preceding editorial [1]), individual behavior, as well as the social and material environment. The responsibility of the European Review of Aging and Physical Activity lies in offering topical information on the state of the art in each of these fields. From the behavioral point of view and from the point of view of the coeditor for behavioral sciences, this is a plea for more scientific and tutorial reviews on the relationship between physical activities and different disciplinary as well as interdisciplinary subjects. These reviews would enable researchers and practitioners to put their future activities on a firm foundation. They should even go beyond those subjects Eur Rev Aging Phys Act (2007) 4:1–2 DOI 10.1007/s11556-007-0017-y

Active aging—a multidisciplinary approach to the third and fourth age

The European Group for Research into Elderly and Physical Activity (EGREPA) is looking forward to its 14th conference since its foundation in 1992 and its first conference held in Oeiras, Portugal, in 1993. The 2014 EGREPA Conference is held in collaboration with the 2014 Wingate Congress from June 12 to 15, 2014 at the Zinman College in Netanya, Israel. The topic of the EGREPA conference will be “Active Aging—A multidisciplinary Approach to the Third and Fourth Age”. This topic reflects the mission statements and the aims of both EGREPA and its official journal European Review of Aging and Physical Activity (EURAPA).