ÁREA 1: SALUD 262 EXERCISE AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN THE ELDERLY. CHANGES INDUCED BY AN EXERCISE PROGRAM IN FUNCTIONAL FITNESS. Mendes, R. 1 , Sousa, N. 1 , Fernández, J. 1 , Victor Monteiro ,V. 1 & Silva, A. 1 1 Sports Department of the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Vila Real, Portugal. ABSTRACT Purpose: to identify the effects of an exercise program in functional fitness of an older adults group and thus in their quality of life. Methology: the participants’ functional fitness was assessed through the performance in the Fullerton’s Functional Fitness Test before and after the exercise’s program application. The test consisted of the following items: 30-s chair stand (CS), Arm curl (AC), Chair sit-and-reach (SR), Back scratch (BS), 6-min walk (6W), 8-ft up-and-go (UG) and by the Body Mass Index (BMI). Results: after the application of the exercise program, the Repeated Measures ANOVA identified significant improvements (p<0.05) in the performance of the items CS, AC, SR, BS, 6W and UG, without, however, identifying significant changes (p>0.05) of the BMI. Key Words: Elderly; Exercise; Functional Fitness; Quality of Life. INTRODUCTION Functional fitness can be defined as the ability to perform daily life activities essential to all individuals, with autonomy and without difficulty (Rikli & Jones, 1999). This ability tends to decrease with aging due to several factors, among them the patterns of physical activity. The sedentary habits lead to a decline of several components of the functional fitness, such as aerobic fitness, flexibility and muscle strength (Gauchard et al., 2003). Therefore we can consider that the reduction of the functional fitness is a natural evolution associated with the aging phenomenon. From the elderly perspective, the quality of life is fundamentally defined by their level of functionality, of health and by the capacity to be self-sufficient from others for the accomplishment of the daily life tasks (Spirduso, 1995). By this way, to maintain their quality of life and to accomplish the daily life activities, it is important for the elderly to live with the best possible functional fitness. Regular physical activity seems to develop a great number of favourable responses that contribute to a healthy aging. In this context, we intend to identify the effects of an exercise program in functional fitness of an older adults group and, consequently, in their quality of life. METHOLOGY 17 older adults of both genders (nine feminine and 8 eight masculine) aged 67-88 participated in this study. The participants' characteristics are presented in the Table 1. Table 1 – Participant’s characteristics All participants (N = 17) Men (n = 8) Women (n = 9) Age (years) 79 ± 7.15 74.88 ± 6.77 82.67 ± 5.48 Height (m) 1.50 ± 0.12 1.60 ± 0.08 1.41 ± 0.06 Weight (Kg) 63.99 ± 14.11 74.78 ± 11.63 54.40 ± 7.76 To assess functional fitness was used the Fullerton's Functional Fitness Test (FFFT) developed by Rikli & Jones (1999). This test battery was developed and validated to measure the physiologic parameters that support the elderly functional fitness. Functional fitness parameters and its respective items of the test battery are described in Table 2. Table 2 – FFFT items