- Researchers report that older adults who followed a lower calorie Mediterranean diet and increased their physical activity had improvements to body composition.
- When people age, their body composition changes with an increase in total fat and a reduction in lean muscle mass.
- Experts say the Mediterranean diet has numerous health benefits.
A lower calorie Mediterranean diet coupled with physical activity may reduce body fat and prevent muscle loss in older adults.
That’s according to
In their study, researchers reported that study participants who followed the Mediterranean diet and increased their aerobic physical activity had an improvement in body composition.
“A 3-year weight-loss intervention based on an energy-reduced Mediterranean diet and physical activity, compared with advice to follow the Mediterranean diet without weight-loss goals, resulted in significant improvements in body composition in middle-aged and older adults with chronic health conditions. In particular, we found that this multifactorial lifestyle intervention was effective in reducing total body fat and visceral fat,” the study authors wrote.
“Excess visceral fat and loss of muscle mass, which occurs with increasing age, have been associated with a higher risk for a broad spectrum of health outcomes including cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes,” the researchers added. “Thus, effective strategies targeting specific body composition components beyond weight management are warranted to improve health in the long term.”
The study involved 1,521 men and women aged between 55 and 75 without a history of cardiovascular events. The subjects were either classified as overweight or had obesity.
The participants were split into two groups.
Those who were placed in the Mediterranean diet group…
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