Fountain of Youth: High Intensity Aerobic Endurance Training

Abstract

To prevent physical frailty and declines in cognitive function in older adults, regular physical activity and exercise training have been considered indispensable. Little information is known, however, on what kind of exercise training can simultaneously improve both physical and cognitive function. We have developed a novel fall and dementia program called "Square-Stepping Exercise" (SSE), which can induce functional activation of the brain and has previously demonstrated a short-term (3 months) effect in older Japanese people. PURPOSE:To investigate a relatively long-term (1 year) effect of regular SSE on cognitive and physical function in community-dwelling Japanese older women. METHODS:Participants were assigned to two groups: a SSE group (n = 41, mean age 70.7 ± 3.4 years) in which participants voluntarily continued the SSE program one or two times per week for 1 year after they took part in a supervised 3-month SSE class, and a control (C) group (n = 51, mean age 72.2 ± 5.3 years) who were randomly drawn from the basic resident register. Cognitive function was evaluated by the Five Cognitive Function Test. RESULTS:In comparisons between baseline and 1-year follow-up, significant improvements were observed in the SSE group in physical function parameters such as walking ability (p < 0.001), hand dexterity (p=0.013) and reaction time (p = 0.008), while significant declines were observed in the C group in balance ability (p = 0.016), walking ability (p = 0.007) and reaction time (p = 0.0025). An increase in the cognitive function score was greater in the SSE group (+16%: 68.8 ± 16.6∅79.8 ± 17.4, p<0.001) compared with the C group (+3%: 69.2 ± 15.2∅71.0 ± 17.1, p = 0.006). CONCLUSIONS:These results suggest that voluntarily participating in SSE for one year following a supervised SSE class can maintain or improve cognitive and physical function in older women. (No relationships reported)PURPOSE: Endurance performance declines with age. It is uncertain to what extent this is due to the ageing process or may be a result of reduced activity. This study investigated responses to aerobic endurance training in young and old with the same aerobic capacity baseline.METHODS: 24 ± 3yr (n=13) and 60±3yr (n=13) old males were matched on initial maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max ) (3.8 ± 0.7 L · min -1 and 3.7 ± 0.4 L · min -1 , respectively) and then trained high aerobic intensity cycling (4x4min) 3 times a week for 8 weeks. All subjects were unfamiliar with the training modality. RESULTS:Both groups improved VO2max and power output (W) from baseline, but young showed a larger increase than old (12.8 ± 5.5% vs. 7.6 ± 9.8% and 19.8 ± 4.7% vs. 14.4 ± 7.1%, p<0.05, respectively). Cardiac output, maximal stroke volume, and arteriovenous oxygen difference increased from pre to posttest within groups (p<0.05), but no differences between groups were observed (p=0.301; p=0.193; p=0.384, respectively). There were no differences in bodyweight (kg) between groups at pretest (76 ± 11 and 77 ± 6) or following the training intervention ...