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STAYING STRONG: ENHANCING BODY COMPOSITION IN OLDER ADULTS

Abstract

As older adults approach the 5th and 6th decades of life, functional muscle mass and bone mass declines can cause significant decreases in quality of life and independence. Fortunately, resistance training has been shown to ameliorate these age-related declines; however, much of this literature is lab-based, limiting its translation to community-dwelling adults. PURPOSE: To evaluate body composition changes after 16 weeks of progressive resistance training using a community-based resistance training program called Stay Strong, Stay Healthy (SSSH). METHODS: Adults aged >65 yrs were recruited to complete 16 weeks of SSSH that progressively increases in tempo and intensity. Twenty-one participants visited the laboratory pre, mid (8-weeks), and post (16 weeks) SSSH and completed whole-body Dual-energy X-ray Absorptiometry scans to access bone (BMC), fat (FM), and muscle (LM); furthermore, lean mass to fat mass (LM:FM) ratios were calculated. Changes in total body mass, LM and BMC were compared using one-way analysis of variance with repeated measures and Bonferroni post hocs. FM and LM:FM were not normally distributed; therefore, Friedman’s test were used for the non-parametric comparisons, and Wilcoxon Signed-Ranked post hocs, alpha = 0.05. RESULTS: Participants significantly reduced their fat mass which also drove the significant improvements in the LM:FM ratio as shown in Table 1 (both p≤0.006, ηp2≥0.259). Further post hoc comparisons showed LM:FM continued to improve from pre to mid to post (both p≤0.049). The changes in body mass and bone mass were about -1% but did not reach statistical significance; similar change suggests the degree of bone loss was most likely a result of overall weight loss instead of a negative outcome of the intervention. CONCLUSION: In just 16 weeks, older adults significantly improved their body composition without dietary or pharmacological interventions by engaging in an accessible, community-based resistance-training program.

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