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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2009 Jul;99(7):1271-7.
doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2008.145581. Epub 2009 May 14.

The StrongWomen-Healthy Hearts program: reducing cardiovascular disease risk factors in rural sedentary, overweight, and obese midlife and older women

Sara C Folta  1 , Alice H Lichtenstein, Rebecca A Seguin, Jeanne P Goldberg, Julia F Kuder, Miriam E Nelson
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

The StrongWomen-Healthy Hearts program: reducing cardiovascular disease risk factors in rural sedentary, overweight, and obese midlife and older women

Sara C Folta et al. Am J Public Health. 2009 Jul.

Abstract

Objectives: We tested a community-based intervention designed to reduce cardiovascular disease risk in sedentary midlife and older women who were overweight or obese.

Methods: In a randomized controlled trial conducted in 8 counties in Arkansas and Kansas, counties were assigned to the intervention (a 12-week twice-weekly heart health program) group or to the delayed-intervention control group. Ten to fifteen women were selected from each site, and participants' weight, waist circumference, diet, physical activity, and self-efficacy were measured before and after the intervention. Data were analyzed with multiple regressions.

Results: Compared with the control group, participants in the intervention group had a significant decrease in body weight (-2.1 kg; 95% confidence interval [CI] = -3.2, -1.0), waist circumference (-2.3 in; 95% CI = -4.2, -0.5), and energy intake (-390 kcal/day; 95% CI = -598, -183); an increase in activity (+1637 steps/day; 95% CI = 712, 2562); and an increase in self-efficacy for dietary and physical activity behaviors.

Conclusions: Our results suggest that a community-based program can improve self-efficacy, increase physical activity, and decrease energy intake, resulting in decreased waist circumference and body weight among at-risk women.

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Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Flowchart of participant selection: StrongWomen–Healthy Hearts Study, Arkansas and Kansas, 2007. Note. BMI = body mass index.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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