Original articleImpact of a Home-Based Activity and Dietary Intervention in People With Slowly Progressive Neuromuscular Diseases
Section snippets
Subject Selection
Adults with slowly progressive NMD who were followed up by the NMD clinic at the University of California, Davis (UCD) Medical Center were invited to participate in this interventional study. Diagnoses for the 20 subjects who participated in this study included 8 with limb girdle syndrome, 4 with myotonic dystrophy, 2 with hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy, 2 with fascioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy, 2 with Becker’s muscular dystrophy, 1 with Kennedy’s muscular dystrophy, and 1 with
Demographic Data
Baseline demographic data are displayed in table 1. Subjects using medications related to hypertension (n=3) or T2D (n=1) at baseline were excluded from results relating to change of these variables.
Because the purpose of the 3-month testing was to ensure that no untoward effects of the exercise protocol existed and none were identified, we do not include these intermediate data in the Results section.
Physical Activity and Energy Expenditure
During the intervention period, subjects were instructed to increase the number of steps above
Discussion
In this population of disabled people with NMD, we found that the combination of a modest activity prescription and dietary intervention produced modest improvements in physical activity, caloric intake, and body fat percentage. However, components associated with metabolic syndrome were not affected. At baseline, this was an inactive population, and we were conservative with the activity prescription. Because of this, absence of a training effect (reduced V̇o2 at a given level of exertion) is
Conclusions
This study provides evidence that a simple, home-based 6-month activity/dietary intervention may significantly increase activity and reduce caloric intake in people with NMD without a significant impact on components of metabolic syndrome. Some lifestyle changes appear to be sustainable over a longer time period. Future investigations should examine methods to provide greater impact on secondary conditions associated with inactivity and excessive caloric intake. For some physical disabilities,
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Cited by (0)
Supported by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (grant nos. H133B031118, H133B980008).
No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit upon the author(s) or upon any organization with which the author(s) is/are associated.