Effectiveness of a Nutrition Education and Physical Fitness Training Program in Lowering Lipid Levels in the Black Elderly

Abstract

A multidisciplinary nutrition education and fitness training program was tested for its effectiveness in lowering lipid profiles of elderly clients through dietary modification and exercise. The program served 31 free-living, predominantly female, black elderly aged 56-88 years. Dietary, anthropometric, biochemical, and fitness assessments were performed before and after the 10-week, biweekly program. Significant decreases (p < 0.05) were seen in waist circumference, total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoproteins (LDL-C), and TC/HDL-C ratio. These findings suggest a 10-week, biweekly program can be effective in producing both significant, as well as favorable changes, in atherogenic lipids in elderly black subjects.

Cultural Relevance of Physical Activity Intervention Research with Underrepresented Populations

“…Just as they functioned for recruitment, local churches were also commonly used for intervention delivery and data collection [24, 35, 38, 40, 49, 55, 56, 63, 69–71, 78, 85]. Other underrepresented-specific sites for intervention delivery included community settings [41, 58, 86] such as underrepresented group member owned or frequented fitness centers [22, 28, 55, 57, 71], and hospitals serving underrepresented communities [37, 41, 54, 65].…”

“…For example, walking may not be an acceptable form of exercise in the Latino community because it is viewed as indicative of low socioeconomic status [85]. A number of interventions in the project sample incorporated culturally specific forms of PA [19, 23, 49, 53, 65, 66, 68, 70, 71, 77, 80, 91]. One dance intervention integrated physical, mental, and spiritual health as common in the underrepresented group [70].…”

“…The economic circumstance of some underrepresented populations was acknowledged by many authors. For example, they noted common barriers to PA which were difficult to address in research studies such as economic instability in families, inadequate resources to access safe exercise facilities, and unsafe environments for exercise [35, 36, 49, 61, 76, 77, 83, 85, 89, 91]. Authors did not propose viable solutions to these complex problems.…”

Educação nutricional para adultos e idosos: uma experiência positiva em Universidade Aberta para a Terceira Idade

“…Doshi et al 18 , por sua vez, ao avaliarem uma intervenção educativa entre idosos negros, após dez semanas com orientação nutricional (duas vezes por semana), acompanhada de atividade física, não encontraram diferença entre o valor energético da dieta inicial e aquela posterior à intervenção. Essas alterações no consumo alimentar estão em consonância com os achados de Constants et al 19 que, ao desenvolverem intervenção educativa em UATI, na França, também obtiveram um resultado positivo.…”

Neuroprotection and Neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s Disease: Role of Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors, Implications for Dementia Rates, and Prevention with Aerobic Exercise in African Americans

“…Conversely, exercise training can reduce TG and LDL-C and increase HDL-C. Following 10 weeks of aerobic exercise training, Doshi et al reported an 8% reduction in cholesterol/HDL-C ratio in older AAs, independent of changes in body composition [136]. Conversely, a study in South African Blacks found no significant change in HDL-C levels after exercise training [137].…”