Exercise and Dieting Tied to Reduced Disability in Obese Older Adults

Obese older adults can still improve their quality of life by adding exercise to their routine.   A recent study looked at 180 generally healthy, sedentary, non-smoking, obese adults aged 65 to 79.   All participants were put into a supervised exercise program.   They were divided into 3 groups: exercise only; exercise and 250 calories less than normal; and exercise and 600 calories less than normal.

The best overall group to gain benefits was the exercise with 250 calorie reduction.   Exercise and a small calorie reduction (250 calories less per day) showed the same health benefits as exercising and a calorie reduction of 600 calories per day.

Exercise often makes you hungrier, which can make weight loss difficult.   But even small calorie restriction (one less snack or eliminating a few slices of bread) coupled with exercise can boost your overall health.   It is difficult to maintain an aggressive reduction in calories for a long period of time.

Older adults even obese older adults who are healthy can live independently longer and reduce their chances of a health disability.

Key Points:

  • 1You are never too old to benefit from a change in your diet or activity levels.
  • 2Regular exercise helps ward off the affects of aging.
  • 3The hardest part of any exercise program is starting.


In older adults with obesity, eating even just 250 less calories per day for five months during an aerobic exercise program enhances many of the benefits of doing moderate-intensity aerobic exercise on a regular basis
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Written by HealthStatus
Medical Writer & Editor

HealthStatus has been operating since 1998 providing the best interactive health tools on the Internet, millions of visitors have used our health risk assessment, body fat and calories burned calculators. The HealthStatus editorial team has continued that commitment to excellence by providing our visitors with easy to understand high quality health content for many years.

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