Aim and method: To examine in obese people the potential effectiveness of a six-week, two times weekly aquajogging program on body composition, fitness, health-related quality of life and exercise beliefs. Fifteen otherwise healthy obese persons participated in a pilot study. Results: Total fat mass and waist circumference decreased 1.4 kg (p = .03) and 3.1 cm (p = .005) respectively. The distance in the Six-Minute Walk Test increased 41 meters (p = .001). Three scales of the Impact of Weight on Quality of Life-Lite questionnaire improved: physical function (p = .008), self-esteem (p = .004), and public distress (p = .04). Increased perceived exercise benefits (p = .02) and decreased embarrassment (p = .03) were observed. Conclusions: Aquajogging was associated with reduced body fat and waist circumference, and improved aerobic fitness and quality of life. These findings suggest the usefulness of conducting a randomized controlled trial with long-term outcome assessments.
DOCUMENT
The world population is aging, which increases the prevalence of physical limitation and chronic diseases. A major cause of these physical limitation and chronic diseases is a low muscle mass (sarcopenia) and/or a high fat mass (obesity). Coexistence of sarcopenia and obesity, called sarcopenic obesity, may act synergistically and maximizes their health threatening effects. Interventions that target both adipose tissue mass as well as skeletal muscle mass are increasingly important to counteract sarcopenic obesity. Important interventions are resistance exercise that may increase skeletal muscle mass and endurance exercise that may improve physical performance and reduce fatmass. A combination of both resistance and endurance exercise, that is, concurrent exercise, may be favorable to counteract sarcopenic obesity. Caloric restriction may be an interesting intervention to reduce fatmass and overall bodyweight. Special attention is needed, however, to maintain skeletal msucle mass during caloric restriction. An increase in dietary protein may attanuate the muscle mass loss associated with caloric restriction. Even better may be combining an concurrent exercise intervention along with ample protein intake during caloric restirction. This combination of both exercise and dietary protein may be an promising intervention to counteract sarcopenic obesity and to support healthy aging.
DOCUMENT
The retirement phase is an opportunity to integrate healthy (nutrition/exercise) habits into daily life. We conducted this systematic review to assess which nutrition and exercise interventions most effectively improve body composition (fat/muscle mass), body mass index (BMI), and waist circumference (WC) in persons with obesity/overweight near retirement age (ages 55–70 y). We conducted a systematic review and network meta-analysis (NMA) of randomized controlled trials, searching 4 databases from their inception up to July 12, 2022. The NMA was based on a random effects model, pooled mean differences, standardized mean differences, their 95% confidence intervals, and correlations with multi-arm studies. Subgroup and sensitivity analyses were also conducted. Ninety-two studies were included, 66 of which with 4957 participants could be used for the NMA. Identified interventions were clustered into 12 groups: no intervention, energy restriction (i.e., 500–1000 kcal), energy restriction plus high-protein intake (1.1–1.7 g/kg/body weight), intermittent fasting, mixed exercise (aerobic and resistance), resistance training, aerobic training, high protein plus resistance training, energy restriction plus high protein plus exercise, energy restriction plus resistance training, energy restriction plus aerobic training, and energy restriction plus mixed exercise. Intervention durations ranged from 8 wk to 6 mo. Body fat was reduced with energy restriction plus any exercise or plus high-protein intake. Energy restriction alone was less effective and tended to decrease muscle mass. Muscle mass was only significantly increased with mixed exercise. All other interventions including exercise effectively preserved muscle mass. A BMI and/or WC decrease was achieved with all interventions except aerobic training/resistance training alone or resistance training plus high protein. Overall, the most effective strategy for nearly all outcomes was combining energy restriction with resistance training or mixed exercise and high protein. Health care professionals involved in the management of persons with obesity need to be aware that an energy-restricted diet alone may contribute to sarcopenic obesity in persons near retirement age.This network meta-analysis is registered at https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/ as CRD42021276465.
MULTIFILE
