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Aibar-Almazán, A, Martínez-Amat, A, Cruz-Díaz, D, Jesús de la Torre-Cruz, M, Jiménez-García, JD, Zagalaz-Anula, N, Redecillas-Peiró, MT, Mendoza-Ladrón de Guevara, N, and Hita-Contreras, F. The influence of Pilates exercises on body composition, muscle strength, and gait speed in community-dwelling older women: a randomized controlled trial. J Strength Cond Res 36(8): 2298–2305, 2022—Population aging is a global phenomenon that has wide-ranging consequences for the health of individuals, including age-related obesity, muscle loss, and a decline in muscle strength and gait speed. These alterations are associated with disability, functional decline, and mortality in older adults. The objective of this study was to analyze the effects of Pilates exercises on body composition, handgrip strength, and physical performance among community-dwelling Spanish women aged 60 and older. A randomized controlled trial of a 12-week Pilates training program was conducted. A total of 109 women were randomly allocated to either a control (n = 54) or a Pilates (n = 55) group. Body composition was evaluated by bioelectrical impedance. Body mass index (BMI), percentage of body fat, and height-adjusted skeletal muscle mass index (SMI) were assessed before and immediately after the intervention, as were physical performance, estimated by gait speed (timed up-and-go test), and handgrip strength. Statistically significant improvements (p < 0.05) were observed both within and between groups for handgrip strength (Cohen's d = 0.40 and 0.52 respectively) and gait speed (Cohen's d = 0.86 and 0.87 respectively). After 12 weeks, BMI significantly decreased (Cohen's d = 0.07) only in the Pilates group. No significant differences were observed regarding SMI. In conclusion, a 12-week Pilates exercise intervention on community dwelling women over 60 years old shows beneficial effects on muscle strength, physical performance, and BMI, but failed to induce any changes on body composition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Although clinical gait speed may indicate health and well-being in older adults, there is a lack of studies comparing clinical tests with ambulatory gait speed with regard to several health outcomes. Objective The objective of this study was to examine the associations of clinical gait speed, measured by the 2.44-m walk test and the ambulatory gait speed with several physical, mental, and cognitive health outcomes in older adults. Design A cross-sectional design was used. Methods The study population comprised 432 high-functioning, community-dwelling older adults (287 women) aged between 65 and 92 years. Clinical and ambulatory gait speeds were measured using the 2.44-m walk test and a portable gait analysis device, respectively. Multiple linear regressions were used to examine the association of clinical and ambulatory gait speeds with several health outcomes (body mass index, waist circumference, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, chronic conditions, self-rated health, exhaustion, upper- and lower-body strength, physical and mental health status, cognitive status, and self-rated cognitive status). Results The results showed that the average gait speed for clinical and ambulatory measures cannot be directly compared. Clinical gait speed was associated with 7 health outcomes, and the ambulatory gait speed was associated with 6 health outcomes. The significant associations between measures of gait speed and the health outcomes converged in 5 of the 13 health outcomes studied; however, the strength of associations was singly different between measures. Limitations The short monitoring time, the inability to distinguish between the ambulatory gait speed inside the home and outdoor gait speed, and the under-representative sample are limitations of the study. Conclusion The results indicated differences in the number and strength of associations between clinical and ambulatory gait speed. Both measures have construct validity because they have been associated with physical and health outcomes; however, they may have different predictive validity. Further research should be conducted to compare their predictive validity in longitudinal designs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]