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THE EFFECTS OF MULTIDISCIPLINARY TREATMENT ON THE FUNCTIONAL CAPACITY AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN OBESE, ELDERLY WOMEN

T.H. Sá, N. C. Horie, R.M.M. Moreira, W. Jacob-Filho

J Aging Res Clin Practice 2012;1(1):56-60

Objectives: To verify the impacts of a multidisciplinary program on aerobic capacity, strength, weight loss, and quality of life, as a treatment for obesity among the elderly. Methods: Women (≥ 60 years old) with a body mass index (BMI) ≥ 30 kg/m2 participated in this noncontrolled clinical trial. For six months, 22 patients received geriatric and nutritional assistance and performed supervised physical activity twice a week. Lower limb strength was quantified through the Guralnik sit-to-stand test (SST), aerobic capacity was measured during a 12-minute walk/run test (12MWT), quality of life was measured by the abbreviated version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire, and body composition, by electrical bioimpedance. Statistical Analysis: Student's t-test was applied for dependent samples and analysis of variance was used for repeated measures. Results: Initially, the patients presented a BMI of 36.79 (5.26) kg/m2 (average [standard deviation]), a fat mass (FM) of 42.41% (3.4%), a 12MWT distance of 963.9m (123.6m), and an SST of 8.71s (3.93s). After the intervention, there was an average reduction of 6.74% (2.9%) (p = 0.034) in body weight and an average BMI of 34.28 (4.83) kg/m2 (p = 0.047), largely due to a reduction of FM (40.27% [4.43%]; p= 0.008). There were improvements in the 12MWT (1081.95 [168.56] m; p<0.001), in the SST (7.72 s [2.86 ]s, p=0.047) and the WHOQOL-BREF as well as in the general (+38.2%, p<0.001), physical (+21.7%, p = 0.001), and social (+12.9%, p = 0.003) subscores. The reduction of body weight had a positive correlation with the improvement in the physical domain of the WHOQOL-BREF (r = 0.50; p =0.018). The SST decreased just between the patients with a weight loss ≥ 5% (p = 0.028). Conclusions: Elderly patients who underwent multidisciplinary treatment for obesity lost weight and improved their physical capacity and quality of life.

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