Skip to main content
NCBI home page
British Journal of Sports Medicine logoLink to British Journal of Sports Medicine
. 2002 Apr;36(2):126–131. doi: 10.1136/bjsm.36.2.126

Physical exercise or micronutrient supplementation for the wellbeing of the frail elderly? A randomised controlled trial

A Chin 1, N de Jong 1, E Schouten 1, W A van Staveren 1, F Kok 1
PMCID: PMC1724467  PMID: 11916896

Abstract

Objective: To examine the effects of 17 weeks of physical exercise and micronutrient supplementation on the psychological wellbeing of 139 independently living, frail, elderly subjects (inactive, body mass index ≤25 or experiencing weight loss).

Methods: Participants (mean (SD) age 78.5 (5.7)) were randomly assigned to: (a) comprehensive, moderate intensity, group exercise; (b) daily micronutrient enriched foods (25–100% recommended daily amount); (c) both; (d) neither. A social programme and identical regular foods were offered as attention control and placebo.

Results: At baseline, moderate to low but significant correlations were found between general wellbeing scores and physical fitness (r = 0.28), functional performance (r = 0.37), and blood concentrations of pyridoxine (r = 0.20), folate (r = 0.25), and vitamin D (r = 0.23) (all p values ≤0.02), but not with physical activity levels and other blood vitamin concentrations. General wellbeing score and self rated health were not responsive to 17 weeks of exercise or nutritional intervention.

Conclusion: Psychological wellbeing in frail elderly people was not responsive to 17 weeks of intervention with exercise and/or micronutrient enriched foods. The moderate but significant correlations between wellbeing and physical fitness and several blood vitamin concentrations at baseline suggest that changes in wellbeing may occur after long term interventions.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (127.7 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Alpert J. E., Mischoulon D., Nierenberg A. A., Fava M. Nutrition and depression: focus on folate. Nutrition. 2000 Jul-Aug;16(7-8):544–546. doi: 10.1016/s0899-9007(00)00327-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Biddle S. J., Fox K. R. Exercise and health psychology: emerging relationships. Br J Med Psychol. 1989 Sep;62(Pt 3):205–216. doi: 10.1111/j.2044-8341.1989.tb02829.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Blumenthal J. A., Babyak M. A., Moore K. A., Craighead W. E., Herman S., Khatri P., Waugh R., Napolitano M. A., Forman L. M., Appelbaum M. Effects of exercise training on older patients with major depression. Arch Intern Med. 1999 Oct 25;159(19):2349–2356. doi: 10.1001/archinte.159.19.2349. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Brown D. R. Physical activity, ageing, and psychological well-being: an overview of the research. Can J Sport Sci. 1992 Sep;17(3):185–193. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Buchner D. M., Wagner E. H. Preventing frail health. Clin Geriatr Med. 1992 Feb;8(1):1–17. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Chin A Paw M. J., Dekker J. M., Feskens E. J., Schouten E. G., Kromhout D. How to select a frail elderly population? A comparison of three working definitions. J Clin Epidemiol. 1999 Nov;52(11):1015–1021. doi: 10.1016/s0895-4356(99)00077-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Chin A Paw M. J., de Jong N., Schouten E. G., Hiddink G. J., Kok F. J. Physical exercise and/or enriched foods for functional improvement in frail, independently living elderly: a randomized controlled trial. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2001 Jun;82(6):811–817. doi: 10.1053/apmr.2001.23278. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Fiatarone M. A., Evans W. J. The etiology and reversibility of muscle dysfunction in the aged. J Gerontol. 1993 Sep;48(Spec No):77–83. doi: 10.1093/geronj/48.special_issue.77. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Haller J., Weggemans R. M., Lammi-Keefe C. J., Ferry M. Changes in the vitamin status of elderly Europeans: plasma vitamins A, E, B-6, B-12, folic acid and carotenoids. SENECA Investigators. Eur J Clin Nutr. 1996 Jul;50 (Suppl 2):S32–S46. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Hoeymans N., Feskens E. J., Kromhout D., van den Bos G. A. Ageing and the relationship between functional status and self-rated health in elderly men. Soc Sci Med. 1997 Nov;45(10):1527–1536. doi: 10.1016/s0277-9536(97)00089-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Löwik M. R., Schrijver J., Odink J., van den Berg H., Wedel M., Hermus R. J. Nutrition and aging: nutritional status of "apparently healthy" elderly (Dutch nutrition surveillance system). J Am Coll Nutr. 1990 Feb;9(1):18–27. doi: 10.1080/07315724.1990.10720345. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Löwik M. R., van den Berg H., Schrijver J., Odink J., Wedel M., van Houten P. Marginal nutritional status among institutionalized elderly women as compared to those living more independently (Dutch Nutrition Surveillance System). J Am Coll Nutr. 1992 Dec;11(6):673–681. doi: 10.1080/07315724.1992.10718266. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Ooms M. E., Lips P., Roos J. C., van der Vijgh W. J., Popp-Snijders C., Bezemer P. D., Bouter L. M. Vitamin D status and sex hormone binding globulin: determinants of bone turnover and bone mineral density in elderly women. J Bone Miner Res. 1995 Aug;10(8):1177–1184. doi: 10.1002/jbmr.5650100806. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Schrijver J., van Veelen B. W., Schreurs W. H. Biochemical evaluation of the vitamin and iron status of an apparently healthy Dutch free-living elderly population. Comparison with younger adults. Int J Vitam Nutr Res. 1985;55(3):337–349. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Schuit A. J., Schouten E. G., Westerterp K. R., Saris W. H. Validity of the Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE): according to energy expenditure assessed by the doubly labeled water method. J Clin Epidemiol. 1997 May;50(5):541–546. doi: 10.1016/s0895-4356(97)00010-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Tinetti M. E. Performance-oriented assessment of mobility problems in elderly patients. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1986 Feb;34(2):119–126. doi: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.1986.tb05480.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Washburn R. A., Smith K. W., Jette A. M., Janney C. A. The Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE): development and evaluation. J Clin Epidemiol. 1993 Feb;46(2):153–162. doi: 10.1016/0895-4356(93)90053-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. de Groot C. P., Perdigao A. L., Deurenberg P. Longitudinal changes in anthropometric characteristics of elderly Europeans. SENECA Investigators. Eur J Clin Nutr. 1996 Jul;50 (Suppl 2):S9–15. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. de Jong N., Chin A Paw M. J., de Groot L. C., Hiddink G. J., van Staveren W. A. Dietary supplements and physical exercise affecting bone and body composition in frail elderly persons. Am J Public Health. 2000 Jun;90(6):947–954. doi: 10.2105/ajph.90.6.947. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. de Jong N., Chin A Paw M. J., de Groot L. C., de Graaf C., Kok F. J., van Staveren W. A. Functional biochemical and nutrient indices in frail elderly people are partly affected by dietary supplements but not by exercise. J Nutr. 1999 Nov;129(11):2028–2036. doi: 10.1093/jn/129.11.2028. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. van Asselt D. Z., de Groot L. C., van Staveren W. A., Blom H. J., Wevers R. A., Biemond I., Hoefnagels W. H. Role of cobalamin intake and atrophic gastritis in mild cobalamin deficiency in older Dutch subjects. Am J Clin Nutr. 1998 Aug;68(2):328–334. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/68.2.328. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from British Journal of Sports Medicine are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES