Obese Senior Citizens Gain Functionality, Reduce
Health Risks with Resistance, Aerobic Exercise
Reduction in insulin resistance defect lowers risk
for serious diseases, including diabetes, stroke and coronary heart
disease
Jan. 26, 2009 – There is hope for obese senior
citizens that tend to sit most of the time and get little exercise,
according to new research that finds a combination of resistance and
aerobic exercises appears to improve their functional abilities and
reduce insulin resistance, which lowers their risk for a number of
health problems, including coronary heart disease.
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 the article in the January 26
issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives
journals.
"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."
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 was conducted by Lance E. Davidson,
Ph.D., of Queen's University, Kingsland, Ontario, Canada, and Columbia
University, New York, and colleagues.
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, cardio-respiratory 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," according to the researchers.
"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."
Editor's Note: This study was supported by a
research grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Dr. Ross
has received honoraria from scientific, educational and community
groups; research grants from M&M Mars Inc., Roche Pharmaceutical and
Sanofi-Aventis Inc, and royalties from Human Kinetics. Please see the
article for additional information, including other authors, author
contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and
support, etc.
Keep up with the latest news for senior citizens, baby
boomers
Jan. 26, 2009 – There is hope for obese senior
citizens that tend to sit most of the time and get little exercise,
according to new research that finds a combination of resistance and
aerobic exercises appears to improve their functional abilities and
reduce insulin resistance, which lowers their risk for a number of
health problems, including coronary heart disease.
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.