Effects of exercise and tea catechins on muscle mass, strength and walking ability in community-dwelling elderly Japanese sarcopenic women: A randomized controlled trial

Aim: To investigate the effects of exercise and/or tea catechin supplementation on muscle mass, strength and walking ability in elderly Japanese women with sarcopenia. Methods: A total of 128 women aged over 75years were defined as sarcopenic and randomly assigned into four groups: exercise and tea catechin supplementation (n=32), exercise (n=32), tea catechin supplementation (n=32) or health education (n=32). The exercise group attended a 60-min comprehensive training program twice a week and the tea catechin supplementation group ingested 350mL of a tea beverage fortified with catechin daily for 3months. Body composition was determined by bioelectrical impedance analysis. Interview data and functional fitness measurements, such as muscle strength, balance and walking ability, were collected at baseline and after the 3-month intervention. Results: There were significant groupxtime interactions observed in timed up & go (P<0.001), usual walking speed (P=0.007) and maximum walking speed (P<0.001). The exercise+catechin group showed a significant effect (odds ratio 3.61, 95% confidence interval 1.0513.66) for changes in the combined variables of leg muscle mass and usual walking speed compared with the health education group. Conclusions: The combination of exercise and tea catechin supplementation had a beneficial effect on physical function measured by walking ability and muscle mass. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2013; 13: 458465.