1. Evaluating the Evidence for ‘Evidence Based’: Development and evaluation of physical fitness Sabine Eichberg & Heinz Mechling Strategies for Seniors and Sports, 27. – 28. 5. 2004, Berlin

2. Impact of physical activity Mortality (Myers, 2002; Paffenbarger et al., 1986) Cardiovascular disease and risk factors (Blair et al., 1995; Haapanan-Niemi et al., 2000; Kelley & Goodpaster, 1999; Kelley & Kelley, 2001; Lee & Paffenbarger, 2000; Stefanick, 1999) Physical fitness (Cress et al., 1999; Häkkinen et al., 1998; King et al., 2000; Lan et al., 1998; Peel et al., 1999) Cognitive function (Colcombe et al., 2003; Kramer et al., 2003Robinson et al., 2002) Psychological health (e.g. depression, mood, anxiety, personality) (Greendale et al., 1993; Kaplan et al., 1993; Stephens, 1988)

3. Differences in endurance and strength

4. Strength Men Women (Eichberg & Rott, 2004) >

5. Physical active have higher fitness (Rikli & Jones, 1999)

6. Enhancing physical fitness Age Fitness

7. Delayed decline in physical fitness? Age Fitness loss of independence

8. Evaluating physical fitness Components of physical fitness? Endurance Strength Flexibility Balance Reaction and movement time Activities of daily living... Demands on measuring instruments adaptive and comparable to different age groups, levels of performance, health status, … differentiating kind and level of performance standardized methods ("golden standards")...

9. Evaluating physical activity Physical activity, physical exercise/training, or sports definition type frequency duration intensity … Study design cross-sectional longitudinal intervention subjects …

10. Evaluating influencing factors Age Gender Socio-economic status Health status Personality Health behaviour …