Older Obese Adults Can Benefit From Moderate Exercise
In compliance with the FTC guidelines, please assume the following about all links, posts, photos and other material on this website: (...)
Moderate-intensity exercise can help even extremely obese older adults improve their ability to perform common daily activities and remain independent, according to researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.
Findings from the National Institutes of Health-funded study are published in Obesity journal July issue.
In the United States, obesity affects nearly 13 million adults age 65 and older. Obesity is strongly associated with major mobility disability (MMD) development. MMD is defined as the inability to walk a quarter of a mile, without sitting and help from another person or a walker, according to the study’s lead author, Stephen Kritchevsky, Ph.D., director of the Sticht Center for Healthy Aging and Alzheimer’s Prevention at Wake Forest Baptist.
Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders (LIFE) study showed that a structured physical activity program reduced the risk of MMD. This study was a large clinical trial that enrolled 1,635 sedentary men and women age 70 to 89.
Participants were divided into four groups according to body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference: non-obese with BMI less than 30; non-obese with waist circumference of more than 40 inches for men and 34 inches for women; class 1 obese with BMI between 30 and 35; and class 2 obese with BMI of 35 or higher. They were randomized to a moderate intensity physical activity program and health education program to test if physical activity would reduce the rate of MMD as compared to education program.
The physical activity program focused on walking, strength, balance and flexibility training. Participants attended two center-based training sessions per week and performed at-home activities three to four times per week during the two-year study.
The education program involved workshops and interactive discussions on nutrition, safety and legal/financial issues. Sessions included upper body stretching exercises.
Obesity category and intervention effect has no significant difference, however, those in the class 2 obesity group greatly benefited from the physical activity program, reducing their risk of MDD by 31 percent, Kritchevsky said. MMD affect the quality of life and independence of older people but moderate exercise was safe and effective way to reduce that risk.