AUTHOR=Wong Ming Yu Claudia , Ou Kai-ling , Chung Pak Kwong , Chui Kei Yee Katie , Zhang Chun-qing 

TITLE=The relationship between physical activity, physical health, and mental health among older Chinese adults: A scoping review

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 10 - 2022

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.914548

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2022.914548

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=The aging Chinese population is growing fast, and the proportion of the population aged 60 years old  is expected to double in size in the next 20 years. With increased life expectancy, the aged population tends to suffer from health risks and diseases, creating a burden on public health policy. Hence, it is important to promote healthy and active aging, which includes improving older adults' physical and mental capacities, and advocate for the achievement of a healthy life expectancy. Despite the rapidly growing aging population in China, there have been no reviews investigating the effect of physical activity on physical and mental health among older Chinese adults. Therefore, the current study aimed to review studies from the past 10 years that illustrate the effect of physical activity on physical and mental health among Chinese older adults. Based on the PRISMA extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR; Tricco et al., 2018), this review is aimed at addressing the associations among physical activity, physical health and mental health among older Chinese adults. A total of 371 studies were included in the scoping review, which covered the relationships among physical activity, physical health and mental health variables. The scoping review also revealed the impact of various kinds of physical activity affecting older adults’ physical health, such as functional fitness, body composition, fall risk and balance, and mental health issues, such as depression, anxiety, cognitive function and quality of life. Moreover, studies identified innovative forms of physical activity as emerging trends in physical activity interventions for older adults. To conclude, this scoping review was able to capture the common effects between physical activity and overall well-being, including physical, mental, and cognitive health. Additionally, diverse forms of physical activity intervention, such as group-based and supervised interventions for individuals, should be supported, and cross-cultural exercise comparisons should be made in future  explorations.