Fit and Strong! Plus: Twelve and eighteen month follow-up results for a comparative effectiveness trial among overweight/obese older adults with osteoarthritis.

This comparative effectiveness trial compared the longer-term effectiveness (12 and 18 months) of the standard Fit & Strong! physical activity program to Fit & Strong! Plus, which combined physical activity and dietary weight loss. Outcomes were weight, diet quality, physical activity, osteoarthritis symptoms, performance measures, and anxiety/depression. In this study, 413 overweight/obese participants with OA, ≥60 years old and primarily African American, were randomly assigned to Fit & Strong! (F&S!) or Fit & Strong! Plus (F&S! Plus), with outcomes assessed at 2, 6, 12, and 18 months. 356 (86%) participants completed the 18-month visit. Compared with participants randomized to standard F&S!, F&S! Plus participants maintained longer-term benefits at 12 months in weight (mean change ± SE: -1.7 ± 0.3 kg for F&S! Plus vs -0.9 ± 0.3 kg for F&S!, p = 0.049), BMI (-0.6 ± 0.1 vs -0.3 ± 0.1 kg/m2, p = 0.04), waist circumference (-2.7 ± 0.6 vs -0.4 ± 0.6 cm, p = 0.004), and lower extremity strength (1.6 ± 0.2 vs 1.0 ± 0.2 chair stands, p = 0.046). At 18 months, F&S! Plus participants showed improved lower extremity strength (1.4 ± 0.2 vs. 0.7 ± 0.2 chair stands, p = 0.045. African American older adults in the F&S! Plus arm showed sustained modest improvements in weight, waist circumference, and lower extremity strength at 12 months and in lower extremity strength at 18 months compared to F&S!. Implications for the translation of evidence-based programs into community settings to support healthy behaviors in older adults are discussed.