Sarcopenia and PRAISEDD-2 Intervention's Impact on Diet, Physical Activity, and Body Composition

Abstract

Background: Older adults with a low socioeconomic status and African Americans are more sedentary than the general population. This contributes to the development of sarcopenia and has a negative impact on the health and function of these individuals. PRAISEDD-2 was a 24-month quasi-experimetnal study of low income adults living in senior housing. A focused 3-month intervention included education about stroke prevention and heart health through adherence to heart healthy diets, regular exercise, and prescribed medication combined with exercise classes that included verbal encouragement, blood pressure feedback, and role modeling. Classes continued to be offered in months 4-24 but only included a monthly motivational intervention. The impact of the PRAISEDD-2 intervention on diet (fat, sodium, and protein intake), time spent in physical activity, and body composition are examined in the study reported here. Design: Diet and body composition measures were collected at baseline, 3, 6, 12, and 24 months. Sample included 29 residents of a low-income senior housing complex in Baltimore, MD. Complete data was obtain from 13 participants. Generalized estimating equations (GEE) were used to examine change over the time periods. An intention-to-treat (ITT) paradigm was followed. Results: At 3 months, participants experienced a decrease in sodium (p<0.01) and fat intake (p<0.01), as well as in a decrease in percent body fat (p<.001). However, at 24 months, fat intake (p<0.001) and percent body fat (p<0.001) increased, although protein intake increased (p<.001). No significant change was noted in physical activity (p=.056) or sodium intake (p=0.69) at 24 months. Conclusions: The findings from this study provided some support for the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of the PRAISEDD-2 intervention. The changes that occurred in the early 3 month period were likely due to the intensive nature of the education and exercise classes. Future research should focus on building a stronger self-efficacy based motivational component into the exercise classes to strengthen long term adherence to the recommended dietary change and physical activity, essential to promote decrease in body fat and increases in muscle mass. Interventions may need to be sustained longer to achieve more permanent changes in diet and exercise.