Study of isometric lifting strength in normal Chinese adults

The purposes of this study were to describe norms of isometric lifting strength for healthy Chinese adults and to investigate the effects of age, gender, body weight, and body height on lifting strength. Three types of lifting (i.e., arm, back, and leg lifting) were measured in a sample of 350 Chinese adults (172 men and 178 women) aged between 20 and 81 years. A Force Evaluation and Testing System (FET 5000) was used for strength measurements with three standard lifting positions. The average of two trials for each lifting strength test was used as the subjects' test score. The results showed that the greatest strengths for both sexes exist aged between late 20's and early 30's, with a general decline following thereafter. The magnitude of strength decline with age was most prominent in leg lifting strength among all lifting patterns. Males were stronger than females in all lifting patterns among the different age groups. All of the lifting strengths studied correlated positively with gender, body weight, and body height, and negatively with age in the analyses of simple correlation coefficients. In addition, stepwise multiple regression analyses showed that sex, age and body weight were most predictive of all types of lifting strengths. Body height was an effective predictor of back lifting strength. These findings and the establishment of data base can provide therapists with an objective evaluation regarding lifting strength of individuals for clinical use.