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Elderly Women Should Worry More About
Exercise Than Weight
Oct. 8, 2004 –
Elderly women should worry more about exercising than about controlling
their weight in order to prevent their physical decline, according to a
study done at the University of Pittsburgh and recently published in
Preventive Medicine.
In a study of 171
community-dwelling older women, aged 50-65, researchers concluded that
older women who were overweight or obese and physically active had
levels of physical function similar to normal-weight older women.
Approximately 30
percent of adults in the United States are obese, as defined by having a
body mass index (height in kilograms divided by weight in meters
squared) of greater than 30 kilograms. Rates of obesity increase with
age, with older adults (age 60-74) having the highest rates of obesity.
"Behavioral changes
such as increasing physical activity may be beneficial in preventing the
decline of physical function of older women," said study author and
physical therapist Jennifer S Brach, PT, PhD, GCS, of the University of
Pittsburgh School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences. "Weight loss
may be detrimental to health in older persons, so it may be best to
focus on increasing physical activity, rather than focus solely on
weight." She added, "Because physical therapists know what it means to
have loss of function, we strongly encourage older people to engage in
regular physical activity."
Researchers
measured the physical activity of the women through walking,
sport/leisure activities, and activities of daily living. The
overweight/obese inactive group reported more difficulty with activities
of daily living and walked slower than the normal-weight active and
normal-weight inactive women in the study. Overweight/obese active women
reported similar levels of difficulty with daily living activities and
walked at a similar gait speed as the normal-weight active and
normal-weight inactive women.
Brach was a 1998
Promotion of Doctoral Studies (PODS) scholarship winner and 2001 New
Investigator Fellowship Training Initiative (NIFTI) recipient from the
Foundation for Physical Therapy. "The funding I have received from the
Foundation for Physical Therapy and the American Physical Therapy
Association's Section on Geriatrics has been instrumental to my research
career. Thanks to this funding, I have been able to develop a
publication record that external funding agencies, such as the National
Institutes of Health, have cited as being a major strength of my grant
applications." Brach was funded in part by the Foundation for Physical
Therapy, the American Physical Therapy Association's Section on
Geriatrics, and the National Institute on Aging of the National
Institutes of Health (NIH).
Contributions to
the Foundation for Physical Therapy are tax-deductible and can be made
via check (payable to "Foundation for Physical Therapy") or credit card.
The Foundation for
Physical Therapy was established in 1979 as a national, independent
nonprofit corporation dedicated to the ultimate goal of improving the
quality and delivery of patient care. The Foundation accomplishes this
goal by providing support for scientifically based and clinically
relevant physical therapy research.
SOURCE
Foundation for Physical Therapy
Web Site:
http://www.apta.org
Copyright: SeniorJournal.com |
