Diet, exercise work for older obese adults too
January 16, 2007
NEW YORK - It's never too late for obese
adults to improve their heart risks through diet and exercise,
the results of a new small study suggests.
The researchers, who enrolled 27 obese men
and women age 65 or older, found that calorie cutting and
exercise helped participants shed pounds and lower their blood
pressure, blood sugar and blood fats called triglycerides.
Diet changes and exercise have been shown
to improve heart disease risk factors in young and middle-aged
obese
adults, but less is known about the benefits for older
adults.
In fact, there's some controversy over advocating
weight loss at
older ages, according to the authors of the new study. For
one, a heavier weight is relatively less important in the
health risks of an elderly person compared with a younger
adult. In addition, many older adults are frail, which can
make lifestyle changes difficult.
But the new findings show that older obese
adults can indeed alter their lifestyle, and benefit from
it, according to Dr. Dennis T. Villareal of Washington University
School of Medicine in St. Louis.
They can also reap the potential heart benefits
seen in studies of younger obese adults,
according to Villareal.
He findings on a 6-month study of sedentary,
obese adults randomly assigned to follow diet and exercise
therapy or to serve as a non-exercising comparison group.
All of them had mild to moderate physical limitations and
nearly all had metabolic syndrome. The average body mass index
was 30 or higher.
Those with metabolic syndrome had at least
three of conditions that increased the risk of heart disease,
including high blood pressure, high triglycerides, high blood
sugar and abdominal obesity.
Over six months, the treatment group cut
calories and attended group exercise classes three days a
week. In the end, they lost an average of 18 pounds, versus
no weight change in the comparison group.
The number with metabolic syndrome fell by 59 percent, while
the comparison group again showed no change.
More studies are needed to see if this translates
into less heart disease and a longer life, according to the
researchers.
Source from:
http://news.yahoo.com
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