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Mediterranean-Style Diet, Exercise Reduce
Cardiovascular Risk, Weight
May 2, 2005 – A Mediterranean-style diet combined
with exercise improved cardiovascular risk as quickly as eight weeks
after the program began and participants also lost weight, according to
a study presented this weekend at the American Heart Association's Sixth
Annual Conference on Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology.
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Senior Citizens Can Extend Life with Mediterranean
Diet: New Study
April
8, 2005- Senior citizens can adhere to the Mediterranean diet to extend
their lives, according to research with elderly Europeans published
today in the BMJ. The authors say a healthy man aged 60 can add a year
to his life on the diet.
Read more...
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Researchers noted some structural and functional
measures of cardiovascular disease risk improvement.
"Our lifestyle management program appears to
improve the health of the vasculature, so it might lower the risk of
high blood pressure, diabetes, heart attacks and stroke," said presenter
and lead author Kunihiko Aizawa, M.Sc., a Ph.D. candidate at the
University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada. "We found that
there probably are some things that happen in even eight weeks."
Researchers studied the combined effects of
personalized physical exercise and Mediterranean-style diet plans in
volunteers with pre-clinical risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
The study reported preliminary data from the larger randomized Staged
Nutrition and Activity Counseling (SNAC) trial.
A Mediterranean-style diet has impressive
cardio-protective effects, according to a 2001 American Heart
Association scientific advisory. The diet is high in fruits, vegetables,
bread, other forms of cereals, potatoes, beans, nuts and seeds with
olive oil as an important fat source, and low to moderate amounts of
dairy, fish and poultry.
"There have been studies looking at diet and
exercise to prevent or treat cardiovascular disease," said primary
investigator Robert J. Petrella, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor in the
Schulich School of Medicine at the University of Western Ontario. "The
difference here is that the calories and composition of the diet and
physical activity prescribed were matched to fitness level in an
individually tailored fashion and delivered in a family practice setting
as opposed to a hospital or laboratory."
The randomized, single-blind trial of SNAC
intervention versus usual care lifestyle counseling included 38 patients
with high-normal blood pressure (systolic greater than 130 mmHg to 139
mmHg, diastolic greater than 85 mmHg to 89 mmHg) or pre-diabetes
indicated by impaired fasting glucose or impaired glucose tolerance. The
average age of patients was 53.3 years.
Researchers found that the 22 female and 16 male
participants lost weight and improved their exercise capacity on the
program. Treadmill tests were used to measure exercise capacity (VO2
max, the maximal volume of oxygen exchanged during exercise) at the
beginning and end of the eight-week period. Average VO2 max increased
from 32.1 milliliters per minute per kilogram (mL/min/kg) to 35.3 mL/min/kg.
Average body weight decreased from 92.5 kg to 90.9 kg (203.5 pounds to
200 pounds).
"We were surprised that we saw such a weight
reduction with the Mediterranean diet," Petrella said. "It was not a
weight reduction program."
Blood pressure did not change significantly.
Ultrasound measurements of the heart and blood
vessels at rest were performed as well.
Left ventricular diastolic filling (LVDF)
measurements indicate the efficiency of the heart to relax. Left
ventricular mass is a measure of end organ damage often following the
onset of LVDF abnormalities.
The brachial (arm) and carotid (neck) arteries were
tested for intima-media thickness and arterial distensibility. Both
reflect the health of the blood vessels. The thicker and less
distensible (elastic) the arteries are, the greater the load on the
heart. This often results from changes in blood pressure, blood glucose
or cholesterol disorders such as dyslipidemia.
Carotid artery distensibility was the only
structural factor that significantly improved. It rose about 16 percent.
Petrella said that the other factors may improve as patients are
followed for one year.
One in three American adults has high blood
pressure and two-thirds to three-fourths of people with diabetes
mellitus die of some form of heart or blood vessel disease, according to
the American Heart Association.
"For both of these groups, their lifetime risk of
developing hypertension is high," Petrella said. "Anything we can do to
reduce that is important."
Co-authors are Mauricio Marin, M.D.; Isidro Torres
Castro, M.D.; Michele A. Lawrence; Jeniffer A. Manley, B.Sc.; Leonard A.
Piche, Ph.D.; and Kevin J. Shoemaker, Ph.D.
Note: Statements and conclusions of study authors
that are presented at American Heart Association scientific meetings are
solely those of the study authors and do not necessarily reflect
association policy or position. The American Heart Association makes no
representation or warranty as to their accuracy or reliability.
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