The Low-Calorie Mediterranean Diet: Building Muscle and Losing Body Fat for Older Adults - Study Reveals Surprising Results
2023-10-20 10:06:50 Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) – A new study showed that older adults who followed the low-calorie Mediterranean diet and did minimal exercise six days a week gained muscle and lost a significant amount of body fat by the end of the year. And they kind of maintained that after three years. Dr. ... Read more A new study has revealed that older adults who followed the low-calorie Mediterranean diet and did minimal exercise six days a week for three years gained muscle and lost significant amounts of body fat by the end of the year. The study participants lost dangerous visceral fat in the abdomen, which can lead to diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. The researchers maintain that following a calorie-controlled Mediterranean diet with a 30% reduction in calories and limiting intake of added sugar, crackers, refined breads, cereals, butter, cream, processed meats and sweetened beverages, while maintaining the three-year period of loss. The findings extend the benefits of diet and exercise from weight loss to mobilizing harmful visceral fat, according to Dr. David Katz, a specialist in preventive and lifestyle medicine who was not involved in the study, and Dr. Walter Willett, a prominent researcher in the field of nutrition, and professor of epidemiology and nutrition at Harvard University and Harvard Medical School, said the study confirms that we can change our metabolic state in a profound way.
Publicado : Hace 2 años por archyde en Health Lifestyle
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) – A new study showed that older adults who followed the low-calorie Mediterranean diet and did minimal exercise six days a week gained muscle and lost a significant amount of body fat by the end of the year. And they kind of maintained that after three years.
Dr. David Katz, a specialist in preventive and lifestyle medicine who was not involved in the study, said that the research shows that following a calorie-controlled Mediterranean diet in conjunction with exercise does not simply lead to weight loss, but “to a redistribution of body composition.” From fat to muscle” too.
In addition to losing overall body fat, study participants lost dangerous visceral fat in the abdomen that can lead to diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.
Katz, president and founder of the nonprofit Real Health Initiative, a global coalition of evidence-based lifestyle medicine experts, said the new study’s findings “are not surprising” but extend the benefits of diet and exercise “from just weight loss to mobilizing harmful visceral fat.” “.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, visceral fat cannot be seen, as it is located behind the stomach muscles and surrounding organs deep in the abdomen. If visceral fat represents about 10% of your total body fat mass, this is normal and healthy. However, too much visceral fat can cause inflammation, contributing to chronic disease.
For his part, Dr. Walter Willett, a prominent researcher in the field of nutrition, professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the Chan School of Public Health at Harvard University and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston, said: “This study confirms that we can change our metabolic state in a profound way.”
“We now need to provide a supportive environment and resources to help people make this transition, because it will reflect positively on the health of individuals and society as a whole,” said Willett, who was not involved in the study.
This study forms part of an eight-year randomized clinical trial in Spain, in collaboration with 23 research centers, testing how diet and exercise can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in men and women aged 55 to 75 years. All 6,874 participants in the trial were overweight. Or they were obese and had metabolic syndrome, meaning high blood pressure, high blood sugar, altered cholesterol, and excess fat around the waist.
The new study, published in the journal JAMA Network Open on Wednesday, examined one-year and three-year outcomes in a subpopulation of 1,521 people who underwent scans to determine levels of visceral fat in the abdomen.
Half the group was asked to follow a Mediterranean diet with a 30% reduction in calories and limiting intake of added sugar, crackers, refined breads, cereals, butter, cream, processed meats and sweetened beverages. In addition, this group received assistance from trained dietitians three times a month in the first year, along with training on how to self-monitor and set goals.
The same group was also asked to increase their aerobic exercise over time, walking 45 minutes or more daily, as well as doing exercises to improve strength, flexibility and balance, all of which are very important for aging.
“When you reduce calories, you lose lean mass and fat. When you add exercise, it helps protect lean mass, especially if you add resistance training aimed at building muscle,” Katz explained. He added: “In general, the ideal solution is to lose fat and retain muscle.”
The remaining participants were given general advice during group sessions twice a year and served as a control group for the study.
At the end of one year, people in the intervention group, who followed a low-calorie Mediterranean diet and exercised, lost a modest amount of body fat over the first year, but it was significantly more than the control group. However, the intervention group gained some fat back in the second and third years after the advice and nutritional support were removed. The smaller amount of body fat lost by the control group remained stable over the three years.
However, the study showed that “the number of grams of visceral fat mass decreased in participants from the intervention group only,” while visceral fat mass remained stable in the control group, the study stated.
Both groups gained lean muscle mass, but the intervention group had a “more favorable body composition” that lost more fat than muscle, the researchers said.
“The most profound thing for me is the 3-year follow-up,” explained Dr. Christopher Gardner, a research professor of medicine at the Stanford Prevention Research Center in California, who directs the Nutrition Studies Research Group, and who was not involved in the study.
“We rarely have studies that we cite for longer than a year,” Gardner told CNN. “The size of the 3-year differences is modest, and the trend between 1 and 3 years suggests that at 6 years the effects may be very small.” He added, “Nevertheless, there are statistically significant differences over an impressive three-year period.”
Studies have found that the award-winning Mediterranean diet can reduce the risk of diabetes, high cholesterol, dementia, memory loss, depression, and breast cancer. The diet has also been linked to stronger bones, a healthier heart, and longer life.
The diet features simple vegetarian cooking, with each meal focusing on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans and seeds, with a few nuts, and a heavy emphasis on extra-virgin olive oil. Fats such as butter, other than olive oil, are rarely consumed, and sugar and refined foods are used on special occasions.
Red meat is used in moderation, only to add flavor to the dish. Healthy oily fish, full of omega-3 fatty acids, is encouraged, while eggs, dairy products and poultry are eaten much less than in the traditional Western diet.
Social interactions during meals and exercise are the basic cornerstones of the Mediterranean way of eating. The basis of this method is eating with friends and family, socializing during meals, eating favorite foods consciously, in addition to conscious movement and exercise.
Temas: Fitness, Nutrition