Diet quality in community dwelling obese women following a behavioral‐based diet, tai chi, and resistance training intervention (1026.7)

Abstract

Up to 48% of older adults may be at increased nutrition risk. This is a concern as the number of older adults is projected to double by 2030 and obesity is suspected to rise to over 20% in the same population. The purpose of this analysis is to examine the impact of a diet and exercise intervention on diet quality in obese women in an urban setting. There were 26 women with mean age of 65.3 ± 8.1 years and BMI of 38.0 ±4.6 kg/m2 who completed a community based diet and exercise intervention. Seventeen women, 65% African‐American, were assigned to the intervention group (EXD) and participated in 12 weeks of Tai Chi (TC), resistance training (RT), and behavioral based diet intervention. Nine women were assigned to the control group (CON). The Dietary Screening Tool (DST) was used to assess diet quality; higher scores indicate better quality. Using an independent t‐test the EXD group had a significantly higher diet quality compared to the CON group (66.5 ± 10.2 vs. 53.5 ± 13.8; p=0.025) at post ‐intervention. Results from this analysis indicate that a behaviorally‐based diet, TC, and RT intervention may result in improved diet quality, however further research is needed.Grant Funding Source: College of Environment and Life Sciences Community Access to Research and Extension Services, USDA