Effects on Anti-Aging Indicators in Middle-Aged Men of An Intervention to Prevent Lifestyle-Related Diseases

Abstract

Objective: To-date, in middle-aged men the collection of data regarding the measurement of a wide range of health indicators, and the mutual relationships among these indicators, has been insufficient. Here, we evaluated from the viewpoint of anti-aging medicine, the effects on various anti-aging indicators in middle-aged men of a long-term intervention to prevent lifestyle-related diseases. Methods: Subjects were 18 male employees (mean age, 54.4 ± 7.4 years; mean body weight 77.5 ± 12.5 kg; mean BMI, 26.1 ± 3.6 kg/m 2 ) of a machine manufacturer located in Kyoto City on whom a company-wide anti-aging medical checkup was performed. On the basis of the medical checkup results, exercise and nutritional instructions were given to the study subjects. In addition, subjects were lent pedometers and encouraged to walk, and the data recording the number of steps taken was collected once every four weeks. Anti-aging related indicators were measured before the study as well as 12 and 24 weeks thereafter. Muscle mass was measured with a body composition measuring device by bioelectrical impedance analysis (Physion MD), higher-brain functions were determined by the Wisconsin card sorting test (WCST), the degree of arteriosclerosis was evaluated by acceleration plethysmography (SDP-100), and bone mineral density was measured by ultrasonography (A-1000). Results: Over the 24-week intervention, of the prescribed instructions, the best compliance was found for walking. Twenty-four weeks after the start of intervention, a significant reduction was noted among the anthropometric parameters of body weight (-2.7%, p = 0.021), BMI (-2.7%, p = 0.020), systolic blood pressure (-7.3%, p = 0.014), and diastolic blood pressure (-11.7%, p = 0.002), and among the blood biochemistry parameters of LDL-cholesterol (-9.8%, p = 0.002), IGF-I (-25.4%, p < 0.001), and insulin (-20.4%, p = 0.002). Results from muscle mass measurement, acceleration plethysmography, WCST, DHEA and bone mineral density tests did not change. The mean number of steps taken during the period of intervention was 9,592 ± 1,978 steps/day. Analysis for correlation between the mean number of steps and a change from baseline (Δ) in the individual parameters revealed a positive correlation with Δcortisol and ΔLDL-cholesterol, and a negative correlation with ΔHbA1c (p < 0.05). A sub-class analysis provided a significant correlation between Δmuscle mass and the mean number of steps for an 18-week period after excluding the coldest and hottest seasons from the period of intervention. The sub-class analysis by site revealed a positive correlation with Δmuscle mass of trunk (r = 0.63) and Δmuscle mass of thigh (r = 0.55) (p < 0.01). No adverse events were noted. Conclusion: The 24-week intervention significantly improved many of the health indicators studied, indicating the utility of a company-wide anti-aging medical checkup and the use of pedometers. In the future, relationships between changes in the number of steps and changes in anti-aging indicators warrant further investiga...

Efficacy of a Health Promotion Program with Anti-Aging Medical Checkup and Instructions for Walking under Pedometer Management in Factory Workers

“…Anthropometry was performed a total of three times, on Weeks 0, 12 and 24. Body composition testing was performed using a bioelectrical impedance analyzer for muscle mass (Physion MD, Physion, Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto) 3,8) which provides precision measurement of total body composition (body fat amount, percentage body fat, and lean body) mass, water content, muscle mass, and bone mass.…”

“…Measurements obtained with this analyzer correlate well with MRI data, with correlation coefficients of 0.940 for the upper extremity, 0.917 for the leg, 0.968 for the upper arm, and 0.901 for the thigh 10) . We previously reported a large-scale analysis of body composition and segmental muscle mass using data obtained with this analyzer in 10,335 healthy Japanese individuals 8) . Lower limb muscles, especially the quadriceps muscle, play an important role in loaded movements such as walking, stepping exercises, and standing up, which are required in activities of dairy living (ADL).…”

“…Generally, muscle mass decreases by approximately 1% a year if muscle load training is not performed 8) . In this study, muscle mass significantly decreased in the thigh (both sides), right limb (thigh + leg), and left forehand.…”

Functional Age and Bouts of Physical Activity in Middle-Aged to Older Japanese Adults; Yurin-Study

“…Functional Age and Bouts of Physical Activity in Middle-Aged to Older Japanese Adults; Yurin-Study (NA), and, Vascular-age (VA). Although previous studies suggested that the exercise program could improve some of the components of FA [8][9][10][11][12] , the changes of the FA after the interventions were inconsistent. These studies mainly used the pedometer-based intervention, thus the exercise prescription had limited to advice the increases in the total amounts of the walking activities.…”