Effect of adding exercise to a diet containing glucomannan

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of adding a total-body exercise program to an 8-week diet supplemented with glucomannan on weight loss, body composition, blood parameters, and physical performance in overweight men and women. Sedentary men and women who were overweight (body mass index >25 kg m −2) (men: 18-57 years, 27.0 ± 11.2 years, 177.5 ± 7.6 cm, 102.4 ± 14.9 kg; women: 18-52 years, 33.4 ± 12.1 years, 160.6 ± 4.6 cm, 79.9 ± 9.3 kg) completed an 8-week diet with 3000 mg glucomannan combined with either no exercise (No-Ex) (10 men, 10 women) or a resistance and endurance exercise training program (Ex) (12 men, 10 women). The diet emphasized healthy food choices and portion size control. The exercise training consisted of 3 weekly sessions of approximately 1 hour of a nonlinear periodized total-body resistance exercise program followed by 30 minutes of endurance exercise. After the intervention, there were reductions ( P < .05) in body mass (men, −2.7 ± 1.4 and −3.0 ± 4.0 kg; women, −2.2 ± 1.5 and −3.3 ± 1.5 kg; No-Ex and Ex, respectively), fat mass (men, −2.3 ± 1.6 and −3.9 ± 2.5 kg; women, −2.6 ± 1.4 and −3.6 ± 1.1 kg; No-Ex and Ex, respectively), total cholesterol (TC) (men, −17.9 ± 21.5 and −18.8 ± 19.4 mg dL −1; women, −9.3 ± 20.0 and −10.1 ± 19.5 mg dL −1; No-Ex and Ex, respectively), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Exercise significantly improved high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) (No-Ex, −2.0 ± 4.7 and −2.3 ± 4.5 mg dL −1 vs Ex, 4.4 ± 10.8 and 1.6 ± 3.6 mg dL −1; men and women, respectively), TC/HDL-C ratio, squat and bench press 1-repetition maximum, and distance covered during a shuttle-run test. In addition, exercise appeared to augment the reduction in fat mass (by 63% and 50%; men and women, respectively) and waist circumference, but did not affect total weight loss. Addition of a resistance and endurance exercise training program to a glucomannan diet regimen significantly improved measures of body composition, HDL-C, and TC/HDL-C ratio.