University of Missouri

October 16, 2020

Transcript

Brian Consiglio: Experts recommend strength training at least two times a week to stay healthy, but it can be difficult for older adults to find safe and effective workouts. That’s why MU Extension provides the Stay Strong, Stay Healthy program, an instructor-led course that consists of simple exercises, like squats and bicep curls, to help reduce frailty, osteoporosis and the risk of falls.

Now, researchers from the University of Missouri are studying the 8-week program’s impact. MM School of Medicine researcher Dana Duren said the program made a difference in participants’ health in a variety of ways.

Duren: “We found that the stay strong stay healthy participants improved significantly in their strength, in their balance and in their sleep quality.”

Consiglio: Researchers found that participants in the program improved their scores nearly 20 percent on leg strength and endurance exercises, along with improving 35 percent on a test that measures shoulder flexibility. MU Department of Nutrition and Exercise professor Steve Ball said that these findings show that the training is evidence-based and could be used to help expand the program to help more older adults.

Ball: “All of those things are related to seniors maintaining independence and reducing the risk for falls, and reducing health care costs.”

Consiglio: I’m Brian Consiglio with a Spotlight on Mizzou.

Learn more about the research here