The Factors Influencing Exercise Behaviors of Elderly Living at the Seniors Well-being Villages in Korea

농촌건강장수마을 노인의 운동태도에 영향을 미치는 요인

The purpose of this study is to explore factors influencing them and properties of exercise behaviors among rural elderly in Korea. To implementing it, data were gathered from a total of 356 elderly aged 65 and over living at the Seniors Well-being Villages being developed by the Rural Development Administration in Korea, using the structured questionnaires. also, data were analyzed by the SPSS / windows program. Results show that the exercise behavior of rural elderly was medium level as the average of 3.06 score($1{\sim}5$ score) and 44.2 percent among them didn't exercise regularly and 66.8% didn't participate in sports groups. Second, there were the difference in exercise behavior according to sex and age. Specifically, elderly men exercised more regularly and were aware of proper exercise methods than elderly women. However, there were no difference in exercise behavior according to age. Third, when we analyzed the difference in exercise behavior with the regularity of execution, the elderly who exercise regularly showed higher preference, awareness of necessity, regularity of execution, execution of stretching, participation in sports gatherings and awareness of proper methods than the counterparts. Fourth, we found that unhealthy elderly were more aware of necessity of exercise, exercised regularly, and participated in sports groups frequently than healthy elderly. Also, there was a positive influence of regularity of execution on exercise behavior. These results suggested that regular exercising is very important in health of rural elderly. Therefore, to improve their health, above all, exercise program must be developed