Vitamin E and aerobic exercise: effects on physical performance in older adults

Aerobic endurance exercise enhances antioxidant defenses and improves the physical performance of older adults. However, the combined effect on physical performance of exercise and an antioxidant such as vitamin E has not been investigated. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of six months of vitamin E supplementation and supervised aerobic training on physical performance and body composition in sedentary older adults.

Fifty-seven adults, whose average age was 71.5+/-7.5 years, were randomly assigned to an exercise (E), exercise-vitamin (EV), control (C) or vitamin (V) group, and were evaluated before, halfway through, and after training. The dose of vitamin E was 900 IU/day. The training program comprised three sessions of walking exercise per week, at an intensity of 70% of heart rate reserve.

In the E and EV groups, the training program significantly reduced (p<0.016 for each) body weight and body mass index (BMI), and improved performance in the 6- min walk, chair stand, arm curl, and back scratch tests. Performance on the 6-min walk test improved in E and EV, but decreased in the V group. Performance on the chair stand test increased in the EV and E groups, but decreased in the V and C groups. Body weight and BMI decreased more in the EV group than in the C and V groups (p<0.016).

Six months of vitamin E supplementation has no additive effect beyond that of aerobic training on indices of physical performance and body composition in older sedentary adults.