2023-10-23 10:45:53
Research has explored the relationship between following a Mediterranean diet, doing regular physical exercise and the degree of conservation of muscle mass in old age.
Body composition or the amount of fat mass and muscle mass, as well as their distribution in the body, seem to be the key, beyond overall weight, in the development of chronic diseases associated with obesity. In particular, excess visceral fat – the fat accumulated in the abdominal area surrounding the viscera – and loss of muscle mass, which occur as age advances, have been associated with a greater risk of suffering from various metabolic alterations. such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and some types of cancer. Now, a study has shown that following a low-calorie Mediterranean diet and increasing physical activity delays age-related loss of muscle mass and reduces total and visceral fat.
The study was carried out by a research team from the Consorcio de Investigación Biomédica en Red (section Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición, CIBEROBN) in Spain that belong to the URV (Rovira i Virgili University in Tarragona), the Institute of Health Research Balearic Islands ( IdISBa) and the Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Pere Virgili (IISPV, which is one of the CERCA institutions of the Generalitat de Catalunya), in the framework of the PREDIMED-Plus clinical trial.
The majority of studies carried out until now focused on weight loss and improving the metabolic alterations associated with abdominal obesity had focused on evaluating its effect on body weight, and not so much on the different weight compartments, using direct measurements of the body composition through imaging techniques. Therefore, the objective of the new study was to evaluate the effects that a lifestyle intervention focused on weight loss could have on changes in overall body composition and different body regions in participants of the PREDIMED-PLUS study. after three years of follow-up.
The Mediterranean diet is rich in local fruits and vegetables, such as oranges, apples and pears, shown in this image. (Photo: Amazings/NCYT)
The study was carried out on 1,521 older adults (Spanish men and women aged 55 to 75 years) with excess weight and metabolic syndrome (alterations in sugar, high blood pressure and triglycerides, low good cholesterol and abdominal obesity). These patients had body composition measurements performed using a technique called dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, a method considered among the best for assessing body composition in research.
“The results obtained demonstrate that combining a dietary plan based on the traditional Mediterranean diet with caloric restriction and increased physical activity can partially reverse the changes in body composition associated with age in older adults with excess weight,” says Jadwiga Konieczna. , first signatory of the study. For their part, Dora Romaguera, co-lead author, and Jordi Salas-Salvadó, coordinator of the PREDIMED-Plus study, highlight that “given the metabolic relevance of visceral fat and lean mass, the benefits of this type of lifestyle intervention could be “It will benefit older people in preventing age-related loss of muscle mass, especially if they must reduce their weight.”
The research team considers the results obtained “very promising” for establishing new clinical guidelines or public health promotion. “With continued monitoring of the participants in this study over the years, we will be able to confirm whether the changes that have occurred in body composition are associated with long-term metabolic and health improvements,” they say.
The study is titled “An energy-reduced Mediterranean, Physical Activity, and Body Composition: An Interim Subgroup Analysis of the PREDIMED-Plus Randomized Clinical Trial.” And it has been published in the academic journal JAMA Network Open. (Source: URV)
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