Re. Andersen et al., Effects of lifestyle activity vs structured aerobic exercise in obese women - A randomized trial, J AM MED A, 281(4), 1999, pp. 335-340
Citations number
28
Categorie Soggetti
General & Internal Medicine","Medical Research General Topics
Context Physical inactivity contributes to weight. gain, but only 22% of Am
ericans are regularly active.
Objective To examine short- and long-term changes in weight, body compositi
on, and cardiovascular risk profiles produced by diet combined with either
structured aerobic exercise or moderate-intensity lifestyle activity.
Design Sixteen-week randomized controlled trial with 1-year follow-up, cond
ucted from August 1995 to December 1996.
Participants and Setting Forty obese women (mean body mass index [weight in
kilograms divided by the square of height in meters], 32.9 kg/m(2); mean w
eight, 89.2 kg) with a mean age of 42.9 years (range, 21-60 years) seen in
a university-based weight management program.
Interventions Structured aerobic exercise or moderate lifestyle activity; l
ow-fat diet of about 1200 kcal/d.
Main Outcome Measures Changes in body weight, body composition, cardiovascu
lar risk profiles, and physical fitness at 16 weeks and at 1 year.
Results Mean (SD) weight losses during the 16-week treatment program were 8
.3 (3.8) kg for the aerobic group and 7.9 (4.2) kg for the lifestyle group
(within groups, P<.001; between groups, P=.08). The aerobic group lost sign
ificantly less fat-free mass (0.5 [1.3] kg) than the lifestyle group (1.4 [
1.3] kg; P=.03), During the 1-year follow-up, the aerobic group regained 1.
6 [5.5] kg, while the lifestyle group regained 0.08 (4.6) kg. At week 16, s
erum triglyceride levels and total cholesterol levels were reduced signific
antly (P<.001) from baseline (16.3% and 10.1% reductions, respectively) but
did not differ significantly between groups and were not different from ba
seline or between groups at week 68.
Conclusions A program of diet plus lifestyle activity may offer similar hea
lth benefits and be a suitable alternative to diet plus structured aerobic
activity for obese women.