Modes of habitual physical activity influence weight loss in postmenopausal women during a 10‐week weight loss intervention

Abstract

It is widely agreed that weight loss (WL) regimens are more successful when both energy restriction and increased physical activity (PA) are employed. Less is known about the effect of habitual PA in the success of WL. The Objective was to evaluate which type of habitual PA, in addition to energy restriction, is influential in WL. Participants were 36 postmenopausal women, aged (mean±SD) 56.5±3.7 y, BMI 31.4±4.6 kg/m2, who lost 4.6±3% of weight, ranging from 11.3% to 0.3%, at 10 weeks of intervention. Habitual activity was assessed by the Allied Dunbar Questionnaire for older adults. Additionally, total energy expenditure throughout two 24-hour periods, including resting/sleeping and other habitual and recreational activities was assessed as well and expressed as kcal/kg/24h (MET/24h). Multiple regression models with %WL (at 2-week periods during 10 weeks) as dependent variables and controlling for age and initial weight, revealed that heavy housework and fast walking pace had the highest influence in WL. Higher MET/24h was also significant predictor of WL at various time increments. In conclusion, in this preliminary study, we showed that even habitual activities and total energy expenditure reflecting higher overall activity could help in WL efforts. This is important in view of the typically low compliance to structured exercise protocols in WL regimens. Funded by USDA/CSREES/NRI #2004-05287