Study offers to help you get fit in 2016

Edith Cowan University is giving you the chance to start 2016 with a free supervised exercise program.

If your New Year’s resolutions are usually made after a couple of weeks of too much food and not enough exercise, ECU may be able to help.

ECU is seeking women aged 40 to 60 for a research study that actually requires participants to spend a fortnight doing as little exercise as possible, before being put through a 12-week personalised exercise program.

As part of the #NExT (Nutrition and Exercise Training) study, ECU is offering two free exercise sessions per week at the ECU Joondalup Health and Wellness Institute gym as well as equipment for home exercise sessions.

It’s all in the name of investigating whether a milk-based powder supplement, in addition to exercise, can improve women’s mobility, muscle strength, bone and joint health, flexibility and overall well-being.

Lead researcher Professor Tony Blazevich from ECU’s School of Exercise and Health Sciences said the holidays was often a period when people struggled to maintain their exercise regime.

“It’s well known that periods of low physical activity cause dramatic reductions our abilities to complete daily tasks such as walking up a flight of stairs, though most of the previous research has focussed on young people aged under 30 and older people aged over 65,” he said.

“This will be the first time we have looked at the effects of a period of inactivity in this age group.

“The best thing people can do for their health after a period of inactivity is to start exercising, but this study will focus on whether that beneficial effect can be enhanced with a specially formulated dietary supplement.”

Professor Blazevich said participants would be provided with advice on how to keep their physical activity to a minimum during the first two weeks of the study.

“These tips will include getting their partner or children to take care of strenuous household tasks like vacuuming, which could be seen as an added advantage to taking part in the study,” he said.

The study is being funded with a $730,000 grant from New Zealand dairy co-operative Fonterra.

To volunteer email Dr Joanne Trezise or phone 0447 124 756.

(Source: Edith Cowan University)