Use of sports tourism to motivate older adults to maintain increased aerobic exercise capacity and reduced arterial stiffness after supervised training: a non-randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Habitual aerobic exercise decreases arterial stiffness, a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, and increases aerobic exercise capacity. Exercise habits can be difficult to maintain over time. We sought to determine if the prospect of participating in a sports tourism event (mountain climbing) helped older adults maintain increased aerobic exercise capacity and decreased arterial stiffness after a supervised training program. Forty community-dwelling middle-aged and older individuals were divided into training (n=20) and control (n=20) groups. The training group participated in six weeks of face-to-face exercise intervention (walking, 60%–75% of age-predicted maximal heart rate, 35–50 min/day, 1 day/week) and was additionally offered home-based walking (45 min/day, 2–4 days/week). During the same period, the control group was asked not to change their lifestyle. In the last session of the exercise program, we announced a mountain climbing event planned for six months in the future. The participants were encouraged to maintain their exercise habits leading up to the event. Arterial stiffness (brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity) and maximal oxygen uptake were measured before and after the six-week intervention and two weeks before the mountain climbing event. In the training group, arterial stiffness decreased, and maximal oxygen uptake increased after the intervention; these improvements were successfully maintained until the mountain climbing event. These parameters did not change significantly in the control group. Sports tourism may motivate older adults to maintain their exercise habits after a supervised training program.