05/06/2022 - Dietitians and exercise practitioners play a key role in disease prevention. A new systematic review examines the effect of combined nutrition and physical activity interventions delivered to adults in the general population.
Modifiable behaviors, such as unhealthy diet and sedentary lifestyle by physical inactivity, increase the risk of premature death from non-communicable diseases. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' physical activity guidelines, adults should participate in at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity per week, including at least two days of muscle-strengthening activities. Exercising up to 300 minutes per week has even greater health benefits. However, most adults fail to meet recommendations for the general population.
This systematic review examines the effect of nutrition and physical activity interventions combined provided by dietitians and exercise practitioners for adults who are healthy or have cardiometabolic risk factors but no diagnosed disease. Results demonstrate that dietitians and exercise practitioners play key roles in facilitating positive lifestyle behaviors to reduce cardiometabolic disease risk in adults. Interventions increased physical activity amount; increased vegetable intake; reduced waist circumference; and increased likelihood of achieving 5% weight loss for adults with overweight and obesity.
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