Caminhada espontânea e livre: há diferenças nas respostas afetivas e de percepção do esforço?

Abstract

The number of elderly people has been growing steadily in Brazil, and one way to age healthily is through physical exercise, one of the most common practices and walking, as it is an easily accessible exercise. The objective of the study was to compare the affective responses and the subjective perception of effort between walking in spontaneous free and ecological conditions. Four elderly women participated in this pilot research, ecological, ex post facto. The affective response (AR) was obtained by the sensation scale and the subjective perception of effort (RPE) by the OMNI-walking scale soon after the activity was completed. The distance and duration were recorded for later calculation of the mean velocity (MV). The spontaneous ecological condition (SE) occurred on a public road (street) and free (SF) on an athletic track at a nearby place where the participants were walking before starting the regular exercises. The elderly women did not have knowledge that the researcher observed in the environments. The results showed variations of most two units in the RPE, being in two old women in the SF, a similar one, and a greater in the SE, indicating that the effort was greater in the SF. The mean RPE value found was (SF 6.5 ± 2.08; SE 6.25 ± 0.5). The Ars were maximal, except for one elderly woman in SF, differing in two units, suggesting that the activity was pleasurable independent of the environment. The mean value of AR found was (SF 4.5 ± 1; SE 5 ± 0). was higher in SF (1.44 vs 1.34 m / s), except for an elderly woman. The average value of the average speed of the route found was (SF 1.43 ± 0.12; SE 1.33 ± 0.15). This study demonstrated that the affective sensation during the walk was independent of the condition, place of accomplishment, intensity of activity performed and perceived exertion.