StrongWomen- Healthy Hearts: A Community Based Program for Midlife and Older Women

StrongWomen- Healthy Hearts: A Community Based Program for Midlife and Older Women

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death for women in the United States. CVD disproportionately affects underserved populations, specifically low-income, minority, and rural women who have higher obesity rates and experience other health disparities. There is a need for replicable, evidence-based programs that target women, particularly midlife and older women who represent an increasing proportion of the U.S. population, to reduce their CVD risk . StrongWomen - Healthy Hearts is a 12-week, community-based program that has demonstrated effectiveness at improving CVD risk factors, including body weight, diet quality, and physical activity in a controlled, randomized trial conducted with midlife and older overweight and obese subjects in Arkansas and Kansas.

The central objective is to rigorously evaluate dissemination of the StrongWomen - Healthy Hearts Program using the RE-AIM framework to achieve maximal public health impact. Expanded dissemination will occur through the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service (CSREES) This partnership will leverage a long and successful collaboration between Tufts University and CSREES that provides strength training programs to older women in 41 states.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Greater than 40 years of age
• Female
• BMI greater than 24
• sedentary (not doing any type of exercise more than once per week)

Exclusion Criteria:

• unstable medical condition that would preclude participation in an exercise program
• current participation in another lifestyle modification program
• cognitive impairment
• pregnancy.