Effects of a mat pilates program on cardiometabolic parameters in elderly women

OBJECTIVE This study aimed to determine the effects of mat Pilates on resting heart rate, resting blood pressure and fasting blood glucose, cholesterol and triglycerides in elderly women. METHODOLOGY Fifty sedentary, apparently healthy females aged 60 and older were randomly assigned into a control (CG, n = 25) or an intervention (IG, n = 25) group. The IG took part in an eight-week progressive mat Pilates exercise program, three times weekly while the CG did not take part in any structured exercises throughout the eight-week period. All subjects underwent pre- and post-tests in which cardiometabolic parameters were assessed. RESULTS In the eight-week mat Pilates program, the IG only demonstrated a significant (p ≤ 0.05) decrease in systolic BP (p = 0.040) from 135.84 ± 14.66mmHg to 128.80 ± 16.36mmHg and a significant increase in blood glucose (p = 0.000) from 5.07 ± 0.46mmol.L(-1) to 5.83 ± 0.57mmol.L(-1), whereas resting HR (p = 0.148) (from 68.80 ± 12.58beats.min(-1) to 73.20 ± 11.46beats.min(-1)), resting diastolic BP (p = 0.342) (from 75.64 ± 10.10mmHg to 77.44 ± 9.32mmHg), blood TC (p = 0.073) (from 5.37 ± 0.99mmol.L(-1) to 5.67 ± 1.04mmol.L(-1)) and blood TG (p = 0.384) (from 1.77 ± 0.88mmol.L(-1) to 1.92 ± 0.87mmol.L(-1)) did not produce any significant changes. CONCLUSION Due to the contradictory nature of the cardiometabolic variables (except systolic BP) with the findings of previous studies, it is difficult to establish a case for using Pilates as a substitute for more conventional forms of exercising when exclusively attempting to favourably alter cardiometabolic parameters at least among the elderly women in our sample.