The Effects of Behaviorally‐Based Diet Education and Tai‐Chi on Dietary Intake and Resiliency in Community Dwelling Older Adults

Abstract

Resilience is the ability to recover after a physical, emotional, financial, or social challenge. Limited research exists on the impact of dietary and physical activity interventions on resiliency. Fifty‐four obese, older women were recruited at two senior centers for a 16‐week community‐based intervention study that implemented a modified Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet and Tai Chi (TC) exercise. At baseline, participants’ mean age was 68.2±7.7 years, with BMI of 35.4±4.3 kg/m2, and total cholesterol of 200.7±33.1 mg/dL. The mean Dietary Screening Tool (DST) score was 67.3±10.6 and the mean physical resiliency scale score was 12.96 ± 2.09. Significance was set at p<0.05. There was no significant difference at baseline between waitlist control (WC) and intervention (DASH‐TC) participants in any of the reported variables. One‐way repeated measures ANOVA comparing baseline to post‐intervention was significant for total DST score, BMI, waist circumference, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and glucose; all with a large effect size. There was no significant interaction effect between WC and DASH‐TC groups in terms of physical resiliency; this may be related to a possible Hawthorne effect. The combination of DASH diet plus TC didn't seem to impact resiliency in this population. However, further research is needed to verify these results in larger, more diverse populations.