Resistance exercise training (RET) and protein supplementation are potent nonpharmacological countermeasures against sarcopenic muscle and strength loss, however
other exercise modalities and isolated nutritional supplements are effective in combating
additional deleterious age-related changes, such as reduced cardiometabolic health.
Accordingly, in Study 1 we assessed the 48-hour integrated muscle protein synthesis
(MPS) response to a single session of RE, aerobic exercise, or high-intensity interval
exercise (HIIE) in a group of healthy older men using the novel heavy water method. The
results of Study 1 indicated that both RE and HIIE were capable of significantly elevating
myofibrillar MPS above resting rates, with the most substantial effect observed following
RE. In Studies 2 and 3 we evaluated whether daily consumption of a nutritional
supplement which comprised whey protein, creatine, vitamin D/calcium, and omega-3
polyunsaturated fatty acids could: augment strength, physical function, and lean tissue
mass (Study 2), and also improve glycemic control, lipidemia, and systemic inflammation
(Study 3) in healthy older men following 6 weeks of supplementation in the absence of
exercise; and enhance exercise training-induced improvements in the same outcomes
following a 12-week RET + HIIT program. Six weeks of multi-ingredient nutritional
supplementation stimulated gains in strength (~6%) and lean mass (~1%), roughly
equivalent to one year's worth of age-related decline, as well as reduced circulating
concentrations of lipids and inflammatory markers. Twelve weeks of combined RET +
HIIT simultaneously improved strength, aerobic fitness, and glucose handling in the same
group of older men. Further improvements in systemic inflammation and glucose
handling were observed when multi-ingredient nutritional supplementation was combined
with exercise training. Collectively, these studies demonstrate that multiple exercise
modalities and nutritional supplements can be employed concurrently to alleviate various
aspects age-related physiological decline. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Aging is associated with a variety of deleterious physiological changes including loss of
skeletal muscle mass and strength, reduced aerobic fitness, dyslipidemia, impaired
glycemic control, and increased systemic inflammation. Broadly, this thesis explores how
multiple exercise modalities and nutritional supplements can be used in combination to
simultaneously alleviate several of these negative aspects of aging. This series of studies
demonstrates that, in older men, consumption of a multi-ingredient nutritional supplement
containing whey protein, creatine, vitamin D, calcium, and fish oil: A) stimulates
significant improvements in lean mass, strength, plasma lipids, and systemic
inflammation over a relatively short period of time (6 weeks) in the absence of exercise
training; and B) enhances exercise training-induced gains in strength and glycemic
control, as well as reductions in systemic inflammation. The findings of this thesis
challenge the relatively common practice of targeting individual facets of aging with
singular exercise or nutrition interventions.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:mcmaster.ca/oai:macsphere.mcmaster.ca:11375/21962 |
| Date | 11 1900 |
| Creators | Bell, Kirsten |
| Contributors | Phillips, Stuart, Kinesiology |
| Source Sets | McMaster University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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