Baseline Diet Quality Is Related to Changes in the Body Composition and Inflammatory Markers: An Intervention Study Based on Resistance Training and Nutritional Advice

Abstract

Habitual food intake and physical activity can affect chronic low-grade inflammation, which is common in the elderly, because of changes in the immune system and body composition. Thus, the present study proposes an evaluation of the influence of past eating habits on the effects of an intervention of resistance training plus dietary advice on the inflammatory profile of the elderly. We conducted an intervention study with 40 elderly people. The Revised Diet Quality Index (HEI-R) and the dietary total antioxidant capacity (dTAC) were calculated before the intervention based on a food frequency questionnaire validated to the elderly population. Participants were categorized according to the median of HEI-R and dTAC to assess the influence of the habitual diet quality on anthropometry and inflammatory markers (CRP, IL-8, CCL-2, and leptin) before and after the intervention. The 19-week intervention provided a long-term progressive resistance training associated with dietary advice focused on foods rich in compounds with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. There was a greater reduction in weight, body mass index (BMI), and body fat (%) in the group with the lowest HEI-R and a greater reduction in the body fat (%) in the group with the lowest dTAC, indicating that the group that had a worse diet quality before the intervention responded better to it. The index HEI-R correlated negatively with Δ weight and Δ BMI. dTAC correlated positively with Δ monocyte 1 chemotactic protein (CCL-2) and Δ C-reactive protein (CRP). In this scenario, elderly persons with bad habits can benefit from interventions to lifestyle change, while the better diet quality including dietary antioxidant sources can be useful to control weight and inflammatory biomarkers in this population.

Effectiveness of Resistance Exercise on Inflammatory Biomarkers in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis

“…Despite this, a clinical message could be extrapolated: the resistance exercise seems to be a better option than the different control conditions to manage systemic inflammation for patients with T2DM. It would be worth noting that there are some potential factors not fully described among the studies that should be considered as the baseline diet quality [ 39 ], diets based on anti-inflammatory foods [ 40 ] or the physical activity levels sustained throughout life that may attenuate the progression on inflammation caused by the disease and the aging process [ 41 ].…”

Similar Inflammatory Adaptation in Women following 10 Weeks of Two Equalized Resistance Training with Different Muscle Action Duration

“…Several studies have investigated the acute and chronic effects of resistance training modulating the inflammatory and redox profiles [ 1 – 6 ]. Such effects can contribute to a better understanding of the role of resistance training in the prevention and control of some diseases, as well as in the adaptive process itself, which is mainly associated with muscle hypertrophy [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 6 ].…”