For obese seniors, dieting and exercise together are more effective at improving physical performance and reducing frailty than either alone, the New England Journal of Medicine reported March 31.
In the study, Dr. Dennis T. Villareal of the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and his colleagues evaluated the effects of dieting and exercise in more than 100 obese seniors over a one-year period. Although weight loss alone and exercise alone improved physical function by about 12 percent and 15 percent, respectively, neither was as effective as diet and exercise together, which improved physical performance by 21 percent.
The investigators used a test that evaluates an individual’s ability to perform tasks, such as walking 50 feet, putting on and removing a coat, standing up from a chair, picking up a penny, climbing a flight of stairs and lifting a book. All subjects in the study were over 65, with some as old as 85 when the study began. Their average age was about 70. — media-newswire.com