Ageing and exercise: building body capital in old age

A growing body of literature suggests that physical exercise has beneficial effects on physical, psychological and social functions in healthy older adults [1–3]. Research generally supports the mood-boosting, anxiety-reducing, stress-buffering and self-esteem-generating benefits of physical activity [4, 5]. Evidence about health promotion targeting particularly exercise in older age is also mounting [6–9]. The outcomes of active aging contribute positively both to individuals’ health and social expenditure [10]. The beneficial aspects of healthy aging or active aging are therefore gaining currency, as is clearly put forward in the World Report on Ageing and Health, launched in 2015 by the World Health Organization [3], where it is suggested that there has been a shift in focus from diseases and morbidity to functional ability [2, 11]. Research shows that a life of physical inactivity leads to increased morbidity and mortality, and that physical activity promotes and preserves health [3, 12]. Although increasing one’s physical capabilities has predominantly positive connotations, participation in physical activity by people over a certain age challenges popular notions of aging as an inevitable decline or as a negative process [13–17].

The aim of this current study is to explore why older home dwelling women over the age of 70 years or more spend time on group exercise and their experiences of the importance of group exercise for their daily life. We apply theoretical approaches to cultural capital, active and healthy aging to shed light on the women’s experiences in maintaining physical capabilities through an active lifestyle, and thereby facilitating their own inclusion in society.

Most of the participants in our study (see Table 2) had some health problems. However, they were living independently and were coping with everyday life without assistance from health services. Approximately 2/3 of them were living alone and 60% had more than 12 years of education. They had participated in exercise for more than twenty years and thought exercise was of importance for maintaining bodily strength as well as building resources for social interaction and giving them the courage to believe in their own participation in the future. In this section we will present our findings of the three overreaching and interrelated themes that emerged from the interviews: 1) Building body capital for independence 2) Building body capital to maintain vitality and being in control 3) Building resources for social interaction.

Participants’ quotes are presented in italics and quotation marks refereeing to numbers (no) (see Table 2).

This aim of this study is to provide a deeper understanding of how women more than 70 years of age experience their regular attendance at group exercise classes with a program described consisting of weight bearing resistance, balance and stretching exercises, incorporating dancing steps and movements. We have explored how these women engage in decision making, self-surveillance and risk reduction practices and how they create meaning through physical activity. The main theme emerging from the data is the idea of ‘body capital’ as an important resource in old age. Body capital in this context is a resource-oriented concept and includes different types of knowledge, skills and awareness of opportunities. The body seems to be an important center of the women’s own experience of their health and capabilities. Our findings reveal that the women participating in the training program have an enduring passion for physical activity. Doing physical exercise on a regular basis is something that appears to be incorporated in their bodies and has become a habitual lifestyle. The study by Del Castillo [20] found that participation in physical activity early in life promotes participation late in life and confirms the results of several previous studies. On reaching old age, in line with the precepts of continuity theory, those individuals who had participated earlier in life are more likely to continue to be active [32, 33]. This lifestyle is what we have termed the accumulated cultural capital which gives access to socially desirable health gains [21]. One of our key findings is therefore the accumulation of body capital that arises from this lifelong physical exercise.

One of the most salient findings is the participants’ attribution of importance to physical activity for inclusion in societal arenas. They appear to look at being in and maintaining their position in a social network as a crucial motivation for investing in body capital [23, 24] and successful aging [18]. This is in line with studies that give evidence to older people ‘s desire to avoid invisibility and possible exclusion from social network by building body capital and their physical capabilities [34]. In that sense, Bourdieu’s perspective of capital illustrates the societal aspects of the training group classes. Group training may therefore, through physical activity and accumulated body capital, facilitate cultural resources such as social inclusion and belonging [21]. Accordingly, having a strong social network is indicative of regular physical activity and well-being. Engaging in physical activity maybe important for social networking for older people, as it seems to go along with higher physical functional status and good health throughout old age [35–37].

In addition, the women in this study told us about maintaining their bodies’ ability and expressing their feelings of satisfaction with their bodies. Although they mentioned some events that may contribute to a sense of diminished body capital, e.g. loss of a breast due to cancer treatment, they were mainly concerned with intrinsic motivational factors for doing exercise which, in line with Antoninetti and Garrett [23], is linked to the adaptations to biological changes and to individual and societal attitudes toward aging.

Imbalance between capacity of body and the environment may diminish a person’s physical capabilities and thereby body capital. Consequently, diminished body capital may result in a feeling of diminished self-worth [23]. The state of diminished body capital resonates with the women in our study’s statements about avoiding decay, and that exercise might be a way of tackling this expected imbalance. This might be related to the stated fear of being dependent and a burden on family and relatives. Physical autonomy appears, therefore, to be a core motivation for the maintenance of their body, which is also in accordance with the findings in other studies [24, 38]. In contrast, by doing exercise the women increase their body capital and thereby build up resistance to negative cultural forces and stereotypes linked to cultural perceptions and attitudes towards aging [23, 38]. As a consequence, several of them talked about the social benefit and the positive feedback they got for being fit and doing regular exercise.

The women experience a sense of energy surplus when they engage in physical activities in the group exercise program. Not only do they gain strength to execute daily activities, but they also report emotional gains from their physical activity in old age and express a positive attunement to aging. Twigg [39] might be urging students of gerontology to pay more attention to what the women in our study have said. She stresses the need to take into account and explore the more enjoyable sensations of the body. Strategies for effective communication in the sense of a joyful and attractive presentation to promote physical activity is also addressed by Ory et al. [40]. The results from the participants in our study, who had invested body capital through regular physical activity, with the purpose of profiting both emotionally and physically, give testimony to the importance of reasserting agency in studies of older people and their bodies. The apparent inconsistency with on the one hand accepting social stereotypes, but on the other fighting back probably has to do with differences in age. Whereas participants in our studies are older than 70, other studies, which tend to focus disproportionally on ideals of appearance, may target some younger persons or a specific gender, as is the case in the studies of Clarke 398 and Griffin [41].

Moreover, Segar et al. [42] found in their study that women who were primarily engaged in physical activity to enhance body shape were significantly less physically active than those with non-body shape motives. Thus, individual preferences towards physical activity illustrate the importance of studying the motivations for doing exercises. In comparison, the women in our study seemed not to have the body shape motivation but were more motivated by health gains and well-being. Furthermore, the women in our study appear to be strongly motivated for bodywork and they have been investing in their bodies for almost the whole of their lives.

Such investment in body capital might improve the women’s body image and increase self confidence, and ultimately result in feelings of empowerment [43]. The women’s investment in their body is likely to be associated with their socio-economic status. The higher an individual’s socio-economic status, the greater their opportunities to be physical active in old age [44–47]. Although retirement have negative impact on level of physical activity, high level of education as well as cultural’, physical’ and ‘economic’ capital are associated with increased involvement in physical activity. These individuals are likely to invest a considerable amount of time and money in activities designed to maximize the potential production and conversion of physical capital [44–47]. The women’s experiences reveal their awareness of doing exercises to create direct health benefits such as prevent physical deterioration and having creating a sense of energy and derived health benefits such as being independent and increase attractiveness. Our findings thus contrast with previous studies highlighting primarily negative body images among older women describing the body as; ‘problematic’ , ‘ugly’ , ‘awful’ , ‘the body as a disaster’ [43]. Nevertheless, one particular study [48] supported the idea that women report overall contentment with their bodies and simultaneously express dissatisfaction with their bodies and desire changes. The women in our study focus on meaningful training exercises to improve energy and they invest in their bodies to get opportunities to be independent, strong, flexible, and visible and have more control over their emotions. In addition, our study reveals one of the women’s prime motive for exercising. They have been doing training for many years and all of them talked about it as an enjoyable activity.

They engage in physical activity regularly spending their time and effort, and thus appear to intrinsically motivated. Titze et al. [49] found that individuals who enjoyed exercise were more likely to continue, may explain these finding. Similarly, Ferrand et al. [50] found that a high level of autonomous motivation and self-imposed discipline with respect to exercise are positively linked to well-being. These findings confirm the assumption that there is a growing trend for older people, rather than being “over the hill”, to be “taking the hill by storm” [17].

This study has provided insights into the older women’s understanding and experiences of group exercise in order to cope with the challenges of everyday life within a theoretical framework of cultural capital and health. The women had created cultural health capital, and more specifically body capital, by participating in the group exercise classes. Hence, the women’s investment in body capital through regular exercise facilitated social participation and maintaining their bodily strength. The women’s ability to extract direct health gains, such as strong bodies and attractive bodies, and derived health gains, such as being independent and enjoying social inclusion, gave testimony to the importance of physical activity in old age. The concept of cultural capital as an analytic tool seemed to uncover some of the motivational forces for the women participating in group exercise classes, and to show how their cultural resources, skills, dispositions and interactional styles influence their ability to obtain important abilities to maintaining and create active lifestyles.

Our findings might be of importance in shaping health promotion interventions for older people. There is a need for a consistent public information message to clearly communicate to the public about the benefits of exercise both on general health, well-being and social participation for older people.