The Effect of Smoking on the Physical Fitness of Elderly Male Subjects

This study was conducted to analyze the effect of the smoking habit on the physical fitness of elderly male subjects. Material and Method: The study was conducted on 849 (age 68.7±6.1 years, height 169.4 ± 6.4 cm, 76.4 ± 11.00 kg) elderly male volunteers who could independently perform their daily activities and did not suffer from any health problems. These subjects were divided into three groups as smokers (n=239), smoking quitters (n=285) and non-smokers (n=325). In this study, “Senior Fitness Test” (SFT) protocols comprising of six tests were used to determine the lower and upper extremity strength, flexibility, dynamic balance, coordination and aerobic endurance. The data analysis was performed based on the age groups of participants, and the significance of differences between groups, i.e. “smokers (S)-non-smokers (NS)”, “smokers (S)-smoking quitters (SQ)” and “non-smokers (NS)-smoking quitters (SQ)”, were determined using “Independent Samples T” test. Findings: The data analysis suggests that non-smokers of all ages had higher physical fitness performance scores compared to smokers, which was a statistically significant finding (p<0.05). Conclusion: It was found out that non-smoking elderly male subjects had higher physical fitness level compared to smoking elderly male subjects in all tests.