McLeod A, Schiffer L, Castellanos K, DeMott A, Olender S, Fitzgibbon M, Hughes S, Fantuzzi G, Tussing-Humphreys L. Impact of Physical Activity and Weight Loss on Fat Mass, Glucose Metabolism, and Inflammation in Older African Americans with Osteoarthritis. Nutrients. 2020 Oct 28;12(11):3299. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12113299 PMID: 33126555

Results show that an 8 week (24 session) PA plus weight loss intervention (F&S!+) in older, overweight and obese AAs with osteoarthritis can produce decreases in body fat and VAT that are significantly greater than the changes produced by the PA intervention (F&S!) alone. This finding is consistent with previous studies comparing the effects of PA versus PA plus weight loss on body fat and body fat distribution in older adults [37,38,47–49]. However, unlike previous studies, our findings are from a primarily African American cohort. Contrary to our hypothesis, the F&S!+ intervention was not superior in regard to improving inflammation or glucose metabolism-related biomarkers compared to F&S!. Nonetheless, within groups, we saw a significant reduction in fasting serum insulin and HOMA-IR in FNS!+, and a significant reduction in TNF-α in the F&S! group postintervention