H. Tanaka et al., EFFECTS OF SWIM TRAINING ON BODY-WEIGHT, CARBOHYDRATE-METABOLISM, LIPID AND LIPOPROTEIN PROFILE, Clinical physiology, 17(4), 1997, pp. 347-359
The beneficial effects of regular exercise are primarily based on data
using land-based exercise. Currently, no data exist that demonstrate
the efficacy of swimming exercise for the treatment of obesity and car
diovascular risk factors, despite the fact that swimming is a widely r
ecommended exercise mode. Eighteen previously sedentary obese individu
als were divided into a swim-training group and a non-exercising contr
ol group. The training group swam at 60% of maximal heart rate reserve
for 45 min per day for 3 days per week for 10 weeks, whereas the cont
rol group remained sedentary. The swim-training programme produced sig
nificant cardiovascular training effects, as evidenced by reductions (
P<0.05) in resting and submaximal heart rate values in the training gr
oup. Significant reductions (P<0.05) were also observed in the rating
of perceived exertion and blood lactate concentrations during fixed su
bmaximal exercise on an arm cycle ergometer. Caloric and macronutrient
intake estimated from the dietary records stayed constant before and
after training. Body mass, body fat percentage (36+/-2% vs. 35+/-2%) a
nd body mass index, as well as regional adiposity, showed no statistic
ally significant changes. Neither the training nor the control groups
experienced significant changes in fasting serum glucose and insulin c
oncentrations and glucose-insulin ratio during the study. Total, high-
density lipoprotein (HDL)- and low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholester
ol did not change significantly in either group. It was concluded that
swim training of the duration, frequency and intensity used in the pr
esent study failed to elicit favourable modifications in these traditi
onal cardiovascular risk factors.