The effects of exercise and milk-fat globule membrane (MFGM) on walking parameters in community-dwelling elderly Japanese women with declines in walking ability: A randomized placebo controlled trial

Objective: To investigate the effects of exercise and milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) supplementation on walking ability and walking parameters in community-dwelling elderly Japanese women with declined walking ability. Methods: A randomized placebo controlled trial was performed on 126 elderly community-dwelling women over 79 years old. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four three-month interventions: exercise and MFGM (Ex + MFGM), exercise and placebo (Ex + P), MFGM, and placebo interventions. The exercise intervention group performed one-hour progressive exercise classes twice a week. The MFGM supplementation included ingesting 1 g of MFGM per day. Medical history, physical function measurements included grip strength, knee extension strength, walking speed, as well as walking parameters, and blood components were analyzed. Results: Significant group x time interactions were observed in usual walking speed, stride, and foot progression angle between the groups. Walking speed improved in both exercise groups (P < 0.001). Similarly, stride significantly increased in the exercise groups compared to the MFGM and placebo groups (P < 0.001). Foot progression angle decreased in the exercise groups (P = 0.023) but not in MFGM or placebo groups. Participants with decreased or unchanged walking speed had significantly lower knee extension strength at baseline (P = 0.016), and a higher prevalence of knee OA (P = 0.033, P = 0.010, respectively). Conclusion: The exercise interventions alone or combined with nutrition were effective in improving walking speed as well as other walking parameters. Improvement in stride and foot progression angle may have contributed to the increase in walking speed. However, augmented effects of MFGM with exercise could not be confirmed.