Objective

The purpose of this study was to know if six weeks of physical exercise allowed to improve physical condition and body composition in people diagnosed with Alzheimer's.

Method

A training program was carried out where 13 individuals (78.5 ± 6.4 years) diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, performed two weekly training sessions, in one of them aerobic exercise was performed in a cycle ergometer and in the other, they performed balance, strength and coordination exercises.

Results

We found significant changes in body composition (decrease in fat mass, and increase in muscle mass), and in functional capacity, reflected by the improvement in the "sitting and getting up from a chair" test, the "getting up," walk and sit down again ", on the Berg scale and on gait speed measurements. The manual dynamometry measurements remained constant or improved slightly without sufficient significance.

Conclusion

The combination of aerobic training with strength, balance and coordination exercises, twice a week, for six weeks in people with Alzheimer's, could improve functional capacity and body composition. However, it is not clear that this training protocol allows to improve manual grip strength.

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