Section AGEING and SENESCENCE 21 of frailty included time to walk 15 feet and maximal grip strength. <...> Results were analyzed and compared between eight groups according to: place of residence, gender and age subgroups. <...> In general, rural elderly were characterized by higher AL values compared to their urban peers, and males had greater AL values compared to females. <...> Signifi cant gender-related differences were noted among rural individuals (55–69 years: 3.43 males vs 2.18 females; ≥70 years: 2.88 males vs 2.52 females). <...> It was observed that younger urban and rural females had lower AL values compared to their older peers, opposite relation was noted in case of male participants. <...> It was noted that rural females in both age subgroups had signifi cantly stronger hand grip then urban peers. <...> However, rural females needed more time to walk 15 feet compared to urban females. <...> No age- or place of residence-differences in grip strength and time to walk 15 feet were found in case of males. <...> To conclude, conditions of life and exposure to external stressors seemed to vary in a great extent between females and males from rural area, but not urban area. <...> Differences in physical performance due to the place of residence were pronounced only in studied females. <...> Key words: allostatic load, frailty, Polish elderly, urban, rural Contact information: Nowaczyk Paulina Malgorzata, e-mail: polinan@up.poznan.pl. <...> EVALUATION OF PHYSICAL FITNESS BY USING SENIOR FITNESS TEST AND THE ANALYSIS OF BODY COMPOSITION IN SENIOR WOMEN OF U3V Podzimkovб Tereza, Přidalovб Miroslava, Sнbrovб Lucie Department of Natural Sciences in Kinanthropology, Faculty of Physical Culture, Palackэ University, Olomouc, Czech Republic Optimal physical fi tness is an important factor which limits the progression of senior fragility and contributes to the prevention of falls. <...> Body composition, together with the optimal growth of muscle strength and bone density, contribute to the prophylaxis of senior fragility and accident prevention for seniors. <...> The research group consisted of senior women attending University of the Third Age at the Faculty of Physical Culture of Palacky University <...>