Impact of a Program of Tai Chi Plus Behaviorally Based Dietary Weight Loss on Physical Functioning and Coronary Heart Disease Risk Factors: A Community-Based Study in Obese Older Women

Abstract

This study employed a quasi-experimental design in a community-based study translating the results of our recent findings on the combined effects of Tai Chi and weight loss on physical function and coronary heart disease (CHD) risk factors. A 16-week intervention was conducted to assess the impact of Tai Chi plus a behavioral weight loss program (TCWL, n = 29) on obese (body mass index [BMI] = 35.4 ± 0.8 kg/m²) older (68.2 ± 1.5 yr.) women compared to a control group (CON, n = 9, BMI = 38.0 ± 1.5 kg/m², 65.6 ± 2.7 yr.), which was asked to maintain their normal lifestyle. The TCWL group lost weight (1.6 ± 2.9 kg, P = 0.006) while the CON group did not (1.2 ± 1.9 kg, P = 0.106). Physical functioning as measured by the short physical performance battery improved in TCWL when compared to the CON group (β = 1.94, 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 1.12, 2.76, P < 0.001). TCWL also improved in sit-and-reach flexibility (β = -2.27, 95% CI: -4.09, -0.46, P = 0.016), body fat mass (BMI, β = -0.65, 95% CI: -1.03, -0.26, P = 0.002), waist circumference (β = -1.78, 95% CI: -2.83, -0.72, P = 0.002), systolic blood pressure (β = -16.41, 95% CI: -21.35, -11.48, P < 0.001), and diastolic blood pressure (β = -9.52, 95% CI: -12.65, -6.39, P < 0.001). Thus, TCWL intervention may represent an effective strategy to improve physical function and ameliorate CHD risk in the older adult population.

Efficacy of Tai Chi and qigong for the prevention of stroke and stroke risk factors

“…After removing duplicates, a pool of 711 records remained, of which 42 were assessed as full-text articles. Of these, 16 had to be excluded because they included patients without hypertension, [ 29 – 31 ] with elevated glucose instead of diabetes only, [ 32 ] reported no relevant outcomes, [ 33 ] were not randomized, [ 34 – 41 ] did not use Tai Chi or qigong, [ 42 ] or used Tai Chi or qigong in both arms, [ 43 ] or the study was retracted. [ 44 ] A final total of 26 publications were included in the systematic review, reporting a total of 21 trials and n = 1604 participants.…”

Effects of Tai Chi on essential hypertension and related risk Factors: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

“…Seven of the included trials were single-centre studies. The included studies came from different countries: China (20,21,24,25,(27)(28)(29)31), Korea (22,23), America (32), Switzerland have shown that tai chi can reduce the occurrence of cardiovascular risk factors and improve the health of cardiovascular patients (15). However, studies have also shown that tai chi does not reduce BP and risk factors in patients with essential hypertension.…”

“…Most trials reported allocation concealment and random allocation, but did not mention the specific method used. Eight studies (20,(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31) reported automatic generation of random sequences by a computer, while 2 studies (23,24) reported that they divided participants into an experimental group and a control group by using random number tables. Selective reporting was unbiased, but without any description to evaluate the existence of other biases.…”

“…subgroup analysis was performed according to different durations of tai chi intervention: ≤ 12 weeks and > 12 weeks. For the interventions with a duration ≤ 12 weeks, (20,23,24,27,31), the combined results of the 5 studies showed that 24-movements or Yang-style tai chi did significantly reduce SBP (WMD = −6.79, 95%…”

“…For analysis of the DBP subgroup, due to the different types of tai chi included in this meta-analysis, the 24-type tai chi and Yang's tai chi were classified into a single subgroup and the rest of the tai chi categories into another subgroup. The durations of studies with 24-movement or Yang-style tai chi were all ≤ 12 weeks (20,23,24,27,31). The combined results of the 5 studies comparing 24-movement or Yang-style tai chi with a control group showed significant differences (SMD = −0.84, 95% CI (−1.06, −0.61), p < 0.00001), with low heterogeneity (I 2 = 0%, p = 0.72) (Fig.…”