Exercise, a healthy diet in middle age may help older people

Following regular physical activity routines combined with a diet that includes fruits, vegetables, and other health foods may be key for middle-aged adults to achieve optimal cardiac metabolic health in later years. It suggested the discovery of new research.

A new study using data from the Framingham Heart Study Journal of the American Heart Association, American Heart Association open access journal.

Health risk factors for cardiovascular metabolism include a range of disorders such as metabolic syndrome, excess fat around the waist, insulin resistance, and high blood pressure. The presence of metabolic syndrome can increase the risk of developing heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes.

Researchers are only one of two to comply with both the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ 2018 American Physical Activity Guidelines and the 2015-2020 American Dietary Guidelines in mid-term. Not the most favorable outcome of cardiac metabolic health later in life.

Physical activity guidelines recommend that adults achieve at least 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of intense physical activity per week, such as walking or swimming. The Dietary Guidelines, updated in January 2021, provide suggestions for healthy eating patterns, nutritional goals, and dietary restrictions.

In an analysis of data from participants in the Framingham Heart Study, which began more than 70 years ago in Framingham, Massachusetts, researchers examined data from 2,379 adults over the age of 18 and compliance with two guidelines. They found that meeting the combination of the two recommendations in middle age was associated with lower odds for metabolic syndrome and developing serious health as an elderly participant on examinations 2016-2019. I observed that I was there.

“Healthcare professionals use these findings to further promote the benefits of a healthy diet and regular exercise schedule, emphasizing them to patients, and numerous chronics in their current and later lives. You can avoid the onset of good health, “said the corresponding author, Vanessa Zantakis, PhD, FAHA, Assistant Professor of Medicine and Biostatistics in the Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology section of Boston University School of Medicine in Boston. ..

“The more early people make these lifestyle changes, the more likely they are to reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease in later years,” Xanthakis added.

Research participants were selected from the third generation of Framingham cardiac research. Participants (mean age 47 years, 54% female) were surveyed between 2008 and 2011.

Researchers used a special device called an omnidirectional accelerometer to evaluate physical activity. A device that tracks sedentary physical activity was worn on participants’ hips for eight days. Researchers also collected dietary information from food frequency questionnaires to measure the types and levels of food and nutrients consumed.

In this study, researchers observed that of all participants, 28% met the recommendations of both physical activity and dietary guidelines, and 47% achieved the recommendations with only one of the guidelines. Did. The researchers also observed the following:

-Participants who followed only physical activity recommendations had 51% lower odds for metabolic syndrome.

-Participants who adhered only to the diet guidelines showed odds that were 33% lower.And

-Participants who followed both guidelines had a 65% lower chance of developing metabolic syndrome.

“It’s worth noting that a dose-response relationship was observed between adherence to diet and physical activity guidelines and the risk of cardiometabolic disease in later years,” Xanthakis said. “Participants who met the physical activity guidelines were at an increasingly lower risk of cardiovascular metabolic disease as they adhered to the dietary guidelines.”

Since all study participants were Caucasian adults, the findings cannot be generalized to people of other races or ethnic groups. Additional research using a multi-ethnic participant sample is needed, the researchers said. (ANI)