The effects of lifestyle interventions in dynapenic-obese postmenopausal women

The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of caloric restriction (CR) and resistance training (RT) on body composition, metabolic profile and physical capacity in dynapenic-obese postmenopausal women.

Thirty-eight dynapenic-obese postmenopausal (age, 62.6 ± 4.1 y) women were randomly assigned to one of four groups (1, CR; 2, RT; 3, CR + RT; and 4, control) for a 12-week intervention. The independent variables were body weight, fat mass, and lean body mass (using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry), waist circumference, fasting lipids and glucose, resting systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and physical capacity (6-min walk, chair stand, and one-leg stand tests).

Body weight, fat mass, and waist circumference decreased similarly in the CR and CR + RT groups (all P ≤ 0.05). However, only changes in the CR + RT group were significantly different from the control group (all P ≤ 0.05). Total cholesterol, triglycerides, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure significantly decreased in the CR group (all P ≤ 0.05); whereas total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and systolic blood pressure decreased in the CR + RT group (P ≤ 0.05). Physical capacity improved significantly in the RT and CR + RT groups (all P ≤ 0.05), with significant greater improvements in the RT group (P ≤ 0.05).

Our results suggest that CR with or without RT is effective in improving metabolic profile, whereas RT is effective in improving physical capacity. The combination of RT and CR may be particularly relevant in maximizing improvements in physical capacity in dynapenic-obese postmenopausal women.