Study: Elderly Women Lose More Abdominal Fat Than Men in Resistance Training

Elderly women lose more fat from their abdomens than men when resistance training with weights, according to researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

High amounts of abdominal fat have been linked to diabetes, heart disease and an overall increased risk of death.

Prior studies have shown that resistance training can benefit the elderly by improving their ability to perform everyday activities. The training also speeds up their metabolism, increasing the amount of calories the elderly burn when not exercising, allowing them to eat more and therefore consume more nutrients without gaining weight.

Researchers measured the effect of 25 weeks of resistance training for 12 women and 14 men, ages 61 to 77. The volunteers completed two sets of 10 repetitions, three times per week. Exercises included back extensions, leg extensions, bench presses and bent-leg sit-ups.

A CT scan was used to measure the loss of body fat after completion of the resistance-training program.

Men improved their strength by 15 percent and women by 16 percent. The men and women lost an average of 4.4 pounds of total body fat.

Women in the study lost about 15 cubic centimeters of abdominal fat. However, men had a slight increase in abdominal fat, according to the study published in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.

Other sources: Nedicine and Science in Sports and Exercise