Washington, Oct 9 : Researchers in the US have discovered the "Getting-Out-of-Bed (GoB) measure" to gauge motivation levels and the attitude towards life in older adults.

The study, conducted by scientists at the Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) appears in the October issue of the Journal of Psychosocial Oncology.

The report says that the GoB can be used to increase motivation and thus improve the heath of older adults, because many conditions can be cured or restricted by altering the behavioural patterns of an individual.

The lead author of the study, Kerri Clough-Gorr, from the BUSM Section of Geriatrics, said: "Motivation and life outlook play an important part in an older adult's ability to recover from illness or disabling events and to maintain and/or adopt health-promoting behaviors."

The researchers contacted 660 breast cancer patients from four geographic regions across the US, over the phone.

The telephonic interviews were taken at three and six month intervals.

The team concluded that women with GoB scores =50 - the high motivation group - would have live a healthier life and exercise regularly as compared to women with scores 50.

Clough-Gorr added: "The ability to identify patients with low motivation establishes an opportunity for health care providers to develop and implement interventions to improve older adults' motivation and to help them attain and maintain a higher quality of health and life. The GoB may help target adequate interventions to bolster motivation and thus improve health behaviors and outcomes in older adults."