| Exercise Found Crucial for Elderly |
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By Lee Bowman
Scripps Howard News Service Physical activity, more than an enriched diet, is crucial in preserving the ability of frail seniors to fight off disease, according to a recent study published by Dutch researchers. Immune system response tends to decline with age, but scientists aren't sure exactly why or what the best steps to slow the process might be. The few experiments that have been done have tended to involve younger and relatively healthy seniors. "We know that physical activity and nutritional intake are often marginal in the frail elderly,'' said Dr. Marijke Chin A Paw, who headed the new study at Wageningen University, The Netherlands. "So we decided to develop an exercise program and provide micronutrient-enriched foods instead of supplements, and study the effects of both,'' Chin A Paw said. The results of the 17-week experiment, reported in the January issue of Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, the journal of the American College of Sports Medicine, showed a slight, but statistically significant benefit from the exercise program on the immune systems of the seniors taking part. The study involved more than 200 seniors with an average age of just over 79. They had to be frail enough to need some regular care, but in stable condition and living independently. They were not to be regularly active or taking multivitamins. Roughly equal groups were assigned to take part in supervised group exercise, to receive enriched foods, and to get both interventions, or none. Those getting the nutritional intervention got fruit and dairy products enriched with vitamins and minerals in which seniors tend to be deficient. The control group got the same foods with the same energy content, but not vitamin-enriched. The exercise group did 45 minutes of progressive mobility-enhancing exercises twice a week, starting with warm-ups and ending with cool-down stretching and range-of-motion movements. People who were not in the exercise group took part in a social program every two weeks with a creative therapist, and were visited at home in the off weeks, to balance out any influence that social interaction, cited in many studies, might have on senior health. Chin A Paw said the exercise program was particularly flexible, using inexpensive equipment , that could be done in a variety of real-life settings. While skin tests of immune response showed a slight strengthening only in the exercise groups, "the duration or level of supplementation in this study may have been insufficient to have any effects become apparent. More studies, that include tracking of disease, need to be done on this in the future,'' the scientist said. Those getting the nutrient-enriched food did have the levels of vitamins, minerals and enzyme activity increase, which was a positive effect, even if it didn't translate to the immune system, Chin A Paw said. On the Net: (Contact Lee Bowman at BowmanL@shns.com.) (Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.shns.com)
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