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Study
compares exercise regimens for Obese Older
Adults
Newswise — Sedentary, obese older adults
appear to improve their functional abilities
and reduce insulin resistance through a
combination of resistance and aerobic
exercises, according to a report in the
January 26 issue of Archives of Internal
Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Older adults currently comprise less than 13
percent of the U.S. population but account
for about 35 percent of total personal
health care costs, according to background
information in the article.
“Projections indicating that the U.S.
population 65 years and older will increase
from 12 percent in 2000 to 20 percent in
2030 underscore the urgent need to develop
effective strategies designed to manage the
risk factors for disease and disability and
thereby improve the overall health and
quality of life of older adults,” the
authors write.
“With respect to risk factors for disease,
it is well established that aging is
associated with a marked increase in insulin
resistance, a primary defect that precedes
serious diseases, including diabetes, stroke
and coronary heart disease independent of
other major cardiovascular disease risk
factors,” they continue.
“Aging is also associated with a progressive
increase in functional limitations that
affect activities of daily living and
quality of life and that are highly
predictive of subsequent disability.”
Lance E. Davidson, Ph.D., of Queen’s
University, Kingsland, Ontario, Canada, and
Columbia University, New York, and
colleagues conducted a randomized clinical
trial involving 136 sedentary older adults
who were abdominally obese, meaning they had
a waist circumference of at least 102
centimeters (40 inches) for men or 88
centimeters (35 inches) for women. For six
months, participants were randomly assigned
to one of four groups: resistance exercise
(one set of nine exercises, 20 minutes three
times per week), aerobic exercise (30
minutes of moderate-intensity treadmill
walking five times per week), combined
exercise (30 minutes of aerobic exercise
three times per week plus 60 minutes of
resistance training weekly) and a control
group that did not exercise.
After six months, insulin resistance
improved in the aerobic and combined
exercise groups as compared with the control
group.
In addition, all exercise groups improved
their functional limitation (as measured by
tests such as the number of times a person
could stand up out of a chair in 30 seconds
or step in place in two minutes) compared
with the control group.
The combined exercise group showed greater
improvement than the aerobic only group.
Finally,
cardiorespiratory fitness increased in the
aerobic and combined exercise groups but not
in the resistance exercise group.
“That these observations were obtained in
response to 90 minutes of moderate-intensity
aerobic exercise combined with 60 minutes of
resistance exercise performed across three
days each week is promising and suggests
that substantial improvement in overall
health through effective management of risk
factors for disease and disability can be
achieved in a pragmatic manner,” the authors
write.
“Health care providers are encouraged to
promote performance of resistance and
aerobic exercise by older adults for
simultaneous reduction of insulin resistance
and functional limitations, established risk
factors for disease and disability.”
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