Physical Activity Level Following Resistance Training in Community-Dwelling Older Adults Receiving Home Care: Results from a Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial.

Hilde Bremseth Bårdstu,Atle Hole Saeterbakken,Vidar Andersen,Lene Aasdahl,Marius Steiro Fimland,Hilde Lohne-Seiler

doi:10.3390/ijerph18136682

Abstract

Older adults’ physical activity (PA) is low. We examined whether eight months of resistance training increased PA level in community-dwelling older adults receiving home care. A two-armed cluster-randomized trial using parallel groups was conducted. The included participants were >70 years and received home care. The resistance training group performed resistance training using body weight, elastic bands, and water canes twice per week for eight months. The control group was informed about the national PA guidelines and received motivational talks. The ActiGraph GT3X+ accelerometer was used to estimate PA. Outcomes included total PA (counts per minute), sedentary behavior (min/day), light PA (min/day), moderate-to-vigorous PA (min/day), and steps (mean/day). Between-group differences were analyzed using multilevel linear mixed models. Twelve clusters were randomized to either resistance training (7 clusters, 60 participants) or the control group (5 clusters, 44 participants). A total of 101 participants (median age 86.0 (interquartile range 80–90) years) had valid accelerometer data and were included in the analysis. There were no statistically significant between-group differences for any of the PA outcomes after four or eight months. This study offers no evidence of increased PA level following resistance training in older adults with home care.

Highlights

Physical Activity (PA) is important for successful ageing [1], reducing the risk of several non-communicable diseases [2,3] and all-cause mortality [4]
Many older adults experience this as a vicious cycle; poor muscle strength is related to impaired physical function [3,8] and low PA levels [9], and impaired physical function is related to low PA [7,10]
The present study reports secondary outcomes on whether PA levels increased in older adults performing resistance training as compared to a control group receiving PA counselling

Summary

Introduction

Physical Activity (PA) is important for successful ageing [1], reducing the risk of several non-communicable diseases [2,3] and all-cause mortality [4]. In Norway, only three out of ten community-dwelling older adults above 65 years achieved the recommended. Low PA levels are related to reduced physical function and independence [3,7]; maintaining and/or increasing PA levels into old age is important. Muscle strength, physical function (e.g., ability to rise from a chair and walking), and PA levels gradually decline [3]. Many older adults experience this as a vicious cycle; poor muscle strength is related to impaired physical function [3,8] and low PA levels [9], and impaired physical function is related to low PA [7,10]. There is an association between muscle strength and walking speed [8], and walking

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