以活躍老化觀點探討鐵人三項運動對於健康之影響

Abstract

我國高齡人口不斷攀升，如何促進中高齡者的健康成為重要的議題。從活躍老化的觀點來看，需在老化的過程中，提升中高齡者的生理、心理、社會健康，進而維持其自主與獨立生活的能力。而中高齡者參與「鐵人三項運動 (游泳、自行車、跑步)」可為增進其活躍老化的重要策略之一，然而國內較少有研究探討參與鐵人三項運動對於與其不同層面健康之影響。據此，本研究之目的為 (1) 探討參與鐵人三項運動之中高齡者對於其生理健康之影響。(2) 探討參與鐵人三項運動之中高齡者對於其社會參與之影響。 (3) 探討參與鐵人三項運動之中高齡者對於其心理健康之影響。本研究採用半結構式訪談法，以便利取樣的方式，於2019年9月宜蘭梅花湖全國人三項錦標賽進行質性訪談，共有九位業餘選手接受訪問。研究結果發現，受訪者皆認為參與鐵人三項運動能提供不同層面的健康效益：(1) 生理層面效益包括體能提升、促進新陳代謝、精神變好以及從能疾病中康復。(2) 心理層面效益包括能維持心情愉悅、心態能保持年輕、增加成就感。(3) 社會層面效益包括增進人際關係、擴展社會網絡以及增進親子關係。依據本研究結果，參加鐵人三項運動確實能提升生理、心理與社會層面的健康，可為推動活躍老化的重要策略之一，本研究之結果建議未來有關單位可推動中高齡者多參與鐵人三項運動，以達到其活躍老化之目標。

Given that the population aged 65 and over is growing rapidly in Taiwan, it is critical to promote middle-to-older adults’ health. From the perspective of Active Aging, it is needed to enhance physical, mental, and social well-being in middle-to-older adults, in order to maintain their ability of independent living during the aging process. Participating in Triathlon (consisting of swimming, cycling, and running) can be a promising strategy for Active Aging. However, limited studies have examined how Triathlon participation influence the different dimensions of health in middle-to-older adult population. Therefore, the purposes of this study are (1) to examine the influence of Triathlon participation on physical health in study population; (2) to examine the influence of Triathlon participation on mental health in study population; (3) to examine the influence of Triathlon participation on social health in study population. In Sep 2019, a semi-structured interview was conducted during I-Lan Meihua Lake Triathlon. A total of ten amateur Triathlon participants were interviewed via convenient sampling. The results showed that there is a positive effect of attending Triathlon on different dimensions of health. (1) For physical health, attending Triathlon can be beneficial for increasing physical fitness, enhancing metabolism rate, recovering from diseases. (2) For mental health, attending Triathlon can keep emotional health, stay the mind young, and increase accomplishment. (3) For social health, attending Triathlon can increase interpersonal relationship, expand social network, and promote family relationship. In conclusion, the results of this study support the health benefits of participating Triathlon in middle-to-older adults. It is suggested that promoting middle-to-older adults to attend Triathlon should be considered, to achieve the goal of Active Aging.