Plain language summary
Upon retirement, underground coal miners who previously expended a lot of energy in their work, do not change their eating habits, resulting in weight gain. Increasing moderate intensity physical activity and adjusting the diet may combat this. However, introduction at the same time may be difficult and demotivating for some individuals. This 12-week intervention study aimed to assess the effect of Nordic walking (NW) or a reduced calorie diet on 30 overweight and obese coal miners. The results showed that both low calorie diet and NW improved body measurements, however low-calorie diet was more successful. NW did improve indicators of lower cardiovascular disease risk compared to low-calorie diet, but this was not sustained. It was concluded that although both treatments were effective in improving body measurements and fats, calorie restriction was more effective. This study could be used by physicians to recommend a calorie restricted diet to overweight and obese individuals; however, the combined effect of diet and exercise should not be underestimated, and exercise should be considered after successful introduction of a modified diet.
Abstract
BACKGROUND Overweight and obesity after retirement are likely to be caused by unhealthy eating habits and the energy intake exceeding the energy expenditure. OBJECTIVES This study was designed to assess the effects of two 12-week interventions involving, respectively, either regular physical activity or a modified lower-calorie diet on the anthropometric parameters and blood lipid profiles in overweight and obese retired miners with lipid disorders. DESIGN The study participants (n = 30, aged 58.7 ± 4.1 years, body height 174.8 ± 7.3 cm, body weight 96.6 ± 13.9 kg) were randomly assigned to 2 intervention groups: the Nordic walking group (NW), which exercised with intensity from 60 to 70% of participants' maximal heart rates for 1 h 3 times a week, and the modified diet group (MD). Modification of the diet consisted of reducing the daily energy intake by 30%, increasing the dietary content of mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids and dietary fiber, and reducing the proportion of saturated fatty acids. The variables assessed at baseline and after 6 and 12 weeks were: anthropometric parameters (body weight, fat mass content [FM], fat percentage [BF], BMI, waist circumference [WC], hip circumference [HC], and waist-to-hip ratio [WHR]) and blood lipid indicators (total cholesterol [TC], triglycerides [TG], low density lipoprotein cholesterol [LDL-C], and high density lip-oprotein cholesterol [HDL-C]). RESULTS The body weight of the participants in the NW was lower at week 12 by an average of 5 kg, BMI by 6%, FB by 19%, FM by 15%, WC by 8%, HC by 6%, and WHR by 3%. In the MD, the respective decreases were 8 kg and 8, 25, 20, 6, 2, and 7%. In the MD, the postintervention concentrations of TC and TG were within the reference range. CONCLUSION Both 12-week interventions improved the anthropometric parameters and blood lipid profiles of retired heavy manual workers, with the improvements being more pronounced in the dieting group.
Methodological quality
Jadad score
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