Dietary carbohydrates and change in physical performance of elderly Europeans. SENECA 1993 and 1999

Objective To study dietary glycaemic index (GI) and glycaemic load (GL) in association with physical performance in elderly Europeans. Design Cross-sectional and prospective study. Physical performance was measured using the Physical Performance Test (PPT) score on a scale from 0 to 27, where high scores indicate a better physical performance. Habitual diets were measured using diet history interviews and dietary GI and GL were estimated from table values. Setting Eight towns/centres from the Survey in Europe on Nutrition and the Elderly, a Concerted Action (SENECA) in 1993 and 1999. Subjects Seven hundred and sixty-five men and women, 75–80 years old, were examined in 1993; of these, 357 (47 %) were followed up in 1999, at age 80–85 years. Results At baseline, both dietary GI and GL were significantly inversely associated with PPT scores (P = 0·03 and P = 0·05, respectively). When adjusted for age, BMI, physical activity, self-perceived health, chronic diseases and town/centre, the strength of the associations was attenuated and became non-significant (GI, P = 0·08; GL, P = 0·92). Dietary GI/GL were not associated with PPT scores 6 years later. Conclusions Among elderly Europeans, a high glycaemic diet was associated with a low physical performance at baseline but not 6 years later. Cross-sectional associations may in part be caused by variations in age, BMI, physical activity, self-perceived health, chronic diseases and geographic location.