Abstract
BackgroundThe weakening of the cardiovascular system associated with aging could be countered by increasing levels of physical activity and functional fitness. However, inconsistent findings have been found, and the variety of characteristics of exercise used in previous studies may partly explain that inconsistent results.ObjectiveTo investigate the training effect of sixteen weeks of moderate intensity, progressive aerobic and strength-based training on metabolic health of older women and men.MethodsSixty three sedentary individuals (mean (SD) age 76 (8) years) were randomly assigned to control (n = 31) or exercising (n = 32) groups. The training group was separated to aerobic (n = 18) or strength-based (n = 14). Training took place three times a week. Subjects agreed not to change their diet or lifestyle over the experimental period.ResultsExercising group attained after treatment significant differences on body weight, waist circumference, body mass index, diastolic blood pressure, triglycerides, total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, total cholesterol/HDL-cholesterol relationship, high sensitivity C-reactive protein, and 6-minute walk distance. The control group only had significant differences on waist circumference.ConclusionThe training programs produced significant benefits on metabolic health indicators of sedentary older women and men.
Highlights
The weakening of the cardiovascular system associated with aging could be countered by increasing levels of physical activity and functional fitness
Aerobic-based training has been proposed as an effective mechanism for improving cardiovascular protection, with training resulting in reductions of 2% on total cholesterol (TC), 2% on low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and 9% on triglycerides (TG), and increases of
Some studies focusing on the effects of the gender in the lipid profile have found significant differences, with women having higher high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), decreased LDL-C, and decreased TG comparing with men [20]
Summary
The weakening of the cardiovascular system associated with aging could be countered by increasing levels of physical activity and functional fitness. The weakening of the cardiovascular system associated with aging could be countered by increasing levels of physical activity and functional fitness [10,11]. The variety of characteristics (frequency, intensity, time, and type) of exercise used in previous studies may partly explain inconsistent findings of different modes of aerobic exercise causing unchanged TC, HDL-C or LDLC [15,16]. Inconsistent results exist in strength-based training programs with some failing to achieve changes in blood lipid profile in postmenopausal women [17,18] or in adult men [16], while others have reported benefits [19]. Factors that may interfere with hs-CRP levels, such as physical activity, require further investigation in populations that are at increased cardiovascular risk
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
