Changes in Body Composition and Cardiometabolic Health After Detraining in Older Men with Osteosarcopenia: 6-Month Follow-Up of the Randomized Controlled Franconian Osteopenia and Sarcopenia Trial (FrOST) Study

Clin Interv Aging. 2021 Apr 6:16:571-582. doi: 10.2147/CIA.S299867. eCollection 2021.

Abstract

Purpose: Temporary cessation of exercise but maintenance of habitual physical activity might be a frequent situation in older people's lives. Particularly the COVID-19 induced lockdown of exercise training facilities with individual outdoor activities still being allowed might be a blueprint for this potentially harmful scenario. Thus, the aim of the present study was to determine the effects of 6 months of detraining after 18 months of high-intensity resistance exercise (HIT-RT) on body composition and cardiometabolic outcomes in predominately obese older men with osteosarcopenia.

Materials and methods: Community-dwelling predominately obese men 72-91 years old with low muscle and bone mass (n=43) were randomly assigned to an 18-month HIT-RT (EG: n=21) or a non-training control group (CG, n=22). After the intervention, participants of the EG discontinued HIT-RT for 6 months, but increased their habitual physical activity. Study outcomes were group differences in detraining changes ("effects") for lean body mass (LBM), total and abdominal body fat rate (determined by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry) and the Metabolic Syndrome Z-Score (MetSZ). We applied an intention-to-treat analysis with multiple imputation to analyze the data.

Results: After the 18-month HIT-RT, we observed significant positive training effects for LBM, total and abdominal body fat rate and the MetSZ (all p<0.001). Abrupt cessation of HIT-RT for 6 months resulted in significantly higher unfavorable changes in the HIT-RT compared with the CG for LBM (p=0.001), total body fat (p=0.003) and the MetSZ (p=0.003), apart from abdominal body fat (p=0.059). However, significant overall effects were still present after 24 months for LBM and body fat indices but not for the MetSZ.

Conclusion: The present study clearly indicates the unfavorable effects of 6 months of detraining after HIT-RT. Correspondingly, exercise protocols particularly for older people should focus on continuous exercise with short regeneration periods rather than on intermitted protocols with pronounced training breaks.

Keywords: body fat; detraining; lean body mass; metabolic syndrome; older men; resistance exercise.

Publication types

  • Randomized Controlled Trial

MeSH terms

  • Abdominal Fat
  • Absorptiometry, Photon
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Body Composition*
  • Bone Density
  • Bone Diseases, Metabolic / complications
  • Bone Diseases, Metabolic / physiopathology*
  • COVID-19 / epidemiology
  • Exercise / physiology
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Humans
  • Independent Living
  • Male
  • Metabolic Syndrome / physiopathology
  • Obesity / complications
  • Obesity / physiopathology*
  • Resistance Training
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • Sarcopenia / complications
  • Sarcopenia / physiopathology*

Grants and funding

The authors are very grateful to the support of the Universitäts-Bund of the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen that provided resources for the 6-month follow-up assessment. The authors further acknowledge the support of Kieser Training (Erlangen, Germany) which provided the gym facilities and exercise supervision support. The authors also acknowledge the contribution of the Institute of Radiology, FAU, Erlangen, Germany.