Anabolic Versus Catabolic Skeletal Effects of Endurance or Resistance Exercise in Older Veterans
VA Office of Research and Development
Summary
Adults are often encouraged to exercise to maintain or improve bone health. However, there is evidence that exercise does not always lead to increases in bone mass, and exercise could lead to bone loss under certain conditions. Endurance exercise can increase bone resorption following an exercise bout, which may explain why bone does not always favorably adapt to exercise, but it is unclear if this also happens with resistance exercise. Further, it is not known how exercise training influences blood markers of bone resorption for either endurance or resistance exercise. The purpose of this study is to determine 1) if resistance exercise causes a similar increase in bone resorption as endurance exercise; and 2) if exercise training influences the increase in bone resorption following exercise for both endurance and resistance exercise.
Description
Exercise is frequently recommended to reduce the risk of osteoporotic fracture. However, bone does not always result in the expected improvements in bone mass, and there is evidence that endurance exercise may lead to bone loss under certain conditions. It is the contention that disruptions in calcium homeostasis during exercise, resulting in a decrease in serum ionized calcium (iCa) and increases in parathyroid hormone (PTH) and c-telopeptide of type I collagen (CTX; a marker of bone resorption) that occur shortly after the start of exercise, may be responsible for the lack of the expected im…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 60+ years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Yes
Inclusion Criteria: * Healthy older (60+ y) Veteran women and men in the Denver Metro Area * Normally active (e.g., recreational cycling or walking exercise) Exclusion Criteria: * Impaired renal function, defined as an eGRF of \<60 mL/min/1.73m2 * Hepatobiliary disease, defined as liver function tests (AST, ALT) \>1.5 times the upper limit of normal * Thyroid dysfunction, defined as an ultrasensitive thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) \<0.5 or \>5.0 mU/L * Serum Ca \<8.5 or \>10.3 mg/dL * Serum 25(OH)D \<20 ng/mL * Uncontrolled hypertension, defined as resting systolic blood pressure (BP) \>…
Interventions
- Behavioral10 Weeks of Supervised Resistance Exercise Training
Participants will be randomized to complete 10 weeks of either resistance (weight lifting, hopping) supervised exercise. Exercise will be 3x per week for 1 hour each session. There are a total of 30 exercise sessions.
- Behavioral10 Weeks of Supervised Endurance Exercise Training
Participants will be randomized to complete 10 weeks of endurance (stationary cycling) supervised exercise. Exercise will be 3x per week for 1 hour each session. There are a total of 30 exercise sessions.
Location
- Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center, Aurora, COAurora, Colorado