Sarcopenia as a Mediator of the Effect of a Gerontogymnastics Program on Cardiorespiratory Fitness of Overweight and Obese Older Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Pablo Jorge Marcos-Pardo, Noelia González-Gálvez, Gemma María Gea-García, Abraham López-Vivancos, Alejandro Espeso-García and Rodrigo Gomes de Souza Vale
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Pablo Jorge Marcos-Pardo: Research Group on Health, Physical Activity, Fitness and Motor Behaviour (GISAFFCOM), Physical Activity and Sport Sciences Department, Faculty of Sport, Catholic University San Antonio of Murcia, 30107 Murcia, Spain
Noelia González-Gálvez: Research Group on Health, Physical Activity, Fitness and Motor Behaviour (GISAFFCOM), Physical Activity and Sport Sciences Department, Faculty of Sport, Catholic University San Antonio of Murcia, 30107 Murcia, Spain
Gemma María Gea-García: Research Group on Health, Physical Activity, Fitness and Motor Behaviour (GISAFFCOM), Physical Activity and Sport Sciences Department, Faculty of Sport, Catholic University San Antonio of Murcia, 30107 Murcia, Spain
Abraham López-Vivancos: Research Group on Health, Physical Activity, Fitness and Motor Behaviour (GISAFFCOM), Physical Activity and Sport Sciences Department, Faculty of Sport, Catholic University San Antonio of Murcia, 30107 Murcia, Spain
Alejandro Espeso-García: Research Group on Health, Physical Activity, Fitness and Motor Behaviour (GISAFFCOM), Physical Activity and Sport Sciences Department, Faculty of Sport, Catholic University San Antonio of Murcia, 30107 Murcia, Spain
Rodrigo Gomes de Souza Vale: Active Aging, Exercise and Health/HEALTHY-AGE Network, Consejo Superior de Deportes (CSD), Ministry of Culture and Sport of Spain, 28040 Madrid, Spain

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 19, 1-15

Abstract: The objectives were to analyze the effect of a gerontogymnastics program on functional ability and fitness on overweight and obese older woman and to understand if sarcopenia mediates its effect. This randomized controlled trial involved 216 overweight and obese women. The experimental group (EG) carried out 12 weeks of a gerontogymnastics program. The assessment was of gait speed, cardiorespiratory fitness, functional capacity, and muscle strength. EG showed significant improvements in almost every test. When the effect of training was adjusted by gait speed, the improvement of the 6 min walk test (MWT) for the trained group was no longer significant ( p = 0.127). The improvement of the 6 MWT was significantly and positively associated with the 10 m test ( β = −10.087). After including the 10-m test in the equations, the association between the 6MWT and carrying out the training program decreased but remained significant (β = −19.904). The mediation analysis showed a significant, direct and indirect effect with a significant Sobel test value ( z = 6.606 ± 7.733; p = 0.000). These results indicate that a gerontogymnastics program improves functional capacity and fitness; and the effect of a gerontogymnastics program on CRF is mediated by sarcopenia in older women who are overweight and obese.

Keywords: Sarcopenia; gait speed; cardiorespiratory responses; walking; physical fitness; older people (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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