Why the study?
Does higher physical activity and normal BMI improve blood pressure and fasting glucose in older adults?
Does higher physical activity and normal BMI improve blood pressure and fasting glucose in older adults?
Physical activity is as important as weight management for improving blood pressure and fasting glucose in older adults.
Supports activity promotion in older adults irrespective of BMI; leaves open causal effects on BP and FG.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the combined impact of obesity and physical activity (PA) on the health of older adults. Pedometer-determined steps/d, body-mass index (BMI), resting blood pressure, and fasting glucose (FG) were assessed in 137 older adults (69.0 +/- 8.9 yr). The active group (>4,227 steps/d) had lower systolic blood pressure (SBP; p = .001), diastolic blood pressure (DBP; p = .028), and FG (p < .001) than the inactive group (< or = 4,227 steps/d). The normal-BMI group (18.5-24.9 kg/m2) had lower SBP (p < .001) and DBP (p = .01) than the obese group (> or =30 kg/m2). There were no differences in SBP (p = .963) or DBP (p = 1.0) between active obese and inactive normal-BMI groups. The active obese group, however, had a more favorable FG than the inactive normal-BMI group (chi 2 = 18.9, df = 3, p = .001). Efforts to increase PA of older adults should receive the same priority as reducing obesity to improve BP and FG levels.
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Swartz et al. (2008) studied this question.
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