Effect of Spirulina Maxima and Exercise on General Fitness and Blood Lipids in Older Adults

Summary

The global older adult population has grown more than any other age group, which could be explained by the decrease of birth rate and increase of life expectancy. The healthy life expectancy of older adult in Mexico is 65.8 years, and the population's life expectancy in general is 74.4 years, this means that the population meeting that age is at increased risk of developing some disease or dependence during approximately nine years of their life. For the population over 60 years, the three most frequent health conditions reported were hypertension (40%), diabetes (24.3%), and hypercholesterolemia (20.4%). In this sense, the search for a healthy lifestyle is necessary, which includes a healthy diet that includes supplementation with nutraceuticals and the daily practice of physical activity.

Regarding nutraceutical supplementation, the cyanobacterium Spirulina maxima (S. maxima) is an important source of proteins, carotenoids, phenolic compounds and polyunsaturated fatty acids which have been tested for diverse biological activities such as lipid lowering effects, however, existing studies of effects of S. maxima on body composition, physical function and blood lipid profile in humans, mainly in older adults, have a low level of evidence and absence of adequate experimental designs, so its value as a nutraceutical cannot be assured.

The effects of performing systematic physical exercise in older adults have been shown to have positive effects on body composition and blood lipid profile, so in the present study it is proposed to evaluate the synergy presented by a supplement such as S. maxima in a systematic physical exercise program on the body composition, physical function and blood lipid profile of sedentary older adults with excess weight in a randomized, double-blind, crossover, placebo controlled trial.

Conditions

• Overweight and Obesity

Interventions

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Spirulina maxima supplementation

Supplementation with Spirulina maxima (4.5 g/d) in capsules during 12 weeks.

OTHER

Wash-out

2 weeks washout period to each study subject to avoid any possible carryover effect.

OTHER

Placebo supplementation

Supplementation with placebo (4.5 g/d) in capsules during 12 weeks.

OTHER

Isoenergetic diet

All participants will have a personal isoenergetic diet according to their height, weight, body composition and daily physical activity during 26 weeks

OTHER

Systematic physical exercise program

Participants in the systematic physical exercise program groups will exercise for five days a week. The physical activity program will consist of Monday to Friday chair exercises performed during 24 weeks. The approximate exercise duration will be 40 to 50 min. Each exercise session has an initial or warm-up phase (\~ 10 min), a main physical conditioning phase (\~ 25 min), and a cool-down or relaxation phase (\~ 10 min). The physical activities to select have a metabolic equivalent tasks (METs) considered as moderate, between 3.0 and 6.0 METs. Trained personnel will assist older adults to perform the activities, including articular flexibility using elastic bands, postural and proprioception exercises with materials such as rubber balls, wood sticks, and small sandbags. These activities will be selected according to the deterioration and joint stiffness that the participants could present.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Universidad Autonoma de Baja California

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

DOUBLE

Model

CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age

60 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2022-01-17

Primary Completion

2022-08-01

Completion

2024-05-31

Countries

• Mexico

Study Locations