Gender differences in motor performance of 50- to 79-year-old adults.

This study was conducted to assess gender and age differences among 73 men and women (50-59, 60-69, and 70-79 yr.) on five motor tasks (balance, standing long jump, sit and reach, hand grip, and softball throw). Differences between men and women on the standing long jump, hand grip, and the softball throw favored men. The men had better performance scores than the women on each of these tasks. An interaction of gender by age was noted on the balance task. Women 50-59 yr. old balanced significantly longer than the men of that age group. Age differences were found for the standing long jump, hand grip, and softball throw. The 50-59 age group performed significantly better than the 60-69 and the 70-79 age groups. Performance decreased on each task across age groups. These findings suggest gender differences in motor performance of older adults as has been noted for children.