Impact on Diet Quality and Resilience in Urban Community Dwelling Obese Women With a Nutrition and Physical Activity Intervention

Abstract

Objective: To examine the effect of a Tai Chi, resistance training, and behaviorally-based diet education intervention on dietary quality as well as resilience and physical resilience in obese older women. Design: Community health outreach with a quasi-experimental design. Setting: An urban senior center in Rhode Island. Participants: Thirty-three women, 85% were minorities, with mean age of 65±8.2 years and BMI of 37.3±4.6 kg/m2, were enrolled in the study at baseline however only 17 women in the intervention (EXD) group and 9 women in the wait-list control (CON) group completed the study. Measurement: Dietary quality and nutrition risk were measured using the Dietary Screening Tool (DST), resilience was measured by the Resilience Scale, and physical resilience was examined using the Physical Resilience Scale. Intervention: Participants in the EXD group engaged in 12 weeks of Tai Chi, resistance training, and behaviorally-based diet education. The diet education was based off of the modified Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet and led by a Registered Dietitian. Results: There was no change in dietary quality by group or time. However the EXD group had significantly higher dietary quality compared to the control group (p=0.025) at post intervention, although there was no difference in nutrition risk category. There was no change seen in overall resilience, however the EXD group improved physical resilience (p=0.048). Conclusion: A community health outreach that involved Tai Chi, resistance training, and behaviorally-based diet education may promote higher dietary quality as well as improve physical resilience in obese older women.

Effectiveness of personalized meal recommendation in improving dietary behaviors of Chinese community-dwelling elders: study protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial

“…Currently, 80% of the Chinese elder population (> 65 years) are now community-dwellers (i.e., living outside nursing homes or hospitals) [10], and dietary interventions targeting the elderly population are encouraged to be placed in community settings to enhance public health impact and resource accessibility. Existing communitybased or home-based nutrition support services provide uniformed meal services or nutrition education to help the elderly population get access to nutritious food or increase produce intake [11,12] yet are unable to meet the personal needs of elderly individuals, resulting in inadequate penetration and effectiveness [2,12]. The eating behaviors of older adults are influenced by various factors, such as social and cultural contexts, pathophysiological conditions, and physiological changes.…”