The effects of diet education plus light resistance training on coronary heart disease risk factors in community-dwelling older adults

To examine the effects of diet education (DE) plus light resistance training (RT) on coronary heart disease risk (CHD) factors, specifically dietary quality, blood lipid and C-Reactive protein (CRP) concentrations in overweight and obese older adults in a community setting. Community outreach intervention with a quasi-experimental design. A total of 96 subjects, 16 males and 80 females, aged 69.2 +/- 6.2 years, community-dwelling, and from one of four senior centers in Rhode Island. Subjects participated in 30 minutes of DE (once per week) and similar to 80 minutes of RT (two separate sessions per week) for eight weeks. The DE sessions were led by a registered dietitian. Anthropometrics (height, weight, waist circumference, hip circumference, and body composition), clinical (blood pressure), biochemical (lipid profile, glucose, and CRP concentrations), and diet quality measured by the Dietary Screening Tool (DST). A significant change was seen in DST risk categories from baseline to postintervention, chi(2) (2)=20.43, p < 0.01. Significant differences were seen in triacylglycerol (p=0.028) as well as in systolic and diastolic blood pressures, weight, waist circumference, hip circumference, percent body fat, fat mass, and body mass index (all p < 0.05). This intervention effectively decreased CHD risk in overweight and obese older adults. Future research is needed to examine the effects of longer DE plus RT interventions with greater weight loss on the lipid profile and CRP concentrations in overweight and obese older adults at risk for CHD.