EFFECTS OF CARDIO VS. CARDIO AND RESISTANCE TRAINING IN PEOPLE WITH OBESITY

Abstract

BACKGROUND Current ACSM guidelines for people with obesity suggest cardiovascular training of up to 300 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week with little focus on resistance training. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of 10-weeks of cardiovascular only (CO) vs. cardiovascular and resistance training (CRT) on metabolic health and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among people with obesity. METHODS Four male and 14 female participants with a BMI of 30 to 40 kg/m2 were randomly assigned to either CO (9) or CRT (9) groups. Participants were verbally administered the CDC HRQOL-14 and completed other assessments, including systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), fasting blood glucose, homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), resting energy expenditure, and body fat percentage before beginning and after completing the exercise program. Both groups exercised for 1 hour, 4 days a week, for 10 weeks. CO completed 225 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio for weeks 1-2 and progressed to 177 minutes of moderate and 48 minutes of vigorous-intensity cardio for weeks 3-10. CRT completed 150 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio training and 1 hour of RT for the first two weeks and progressed to 48 minutes of moderate and 48 minutes of vigorous-intensity cardio along with 130 minutes of RT for weeks 3-10. Paired samples t-tests were used to compare pre-and post-intervention variables within groups. One-way ANOVAs were used to compare groups at baseline and the change from pre- to post-intervention for each variable between groups. RESULTS Of the 18 participants, 100% completed the study. There were no significant differences between groups at baseline. The CRT group had a significant reduction from baseline to post-intervention for SBP (-8.8±10.6mmHg, p<.05) and a significant increase for log adjusted 5-RM (0.7±0.01kg, p<.001). BMI (x̄= −0.8±1.0, p=.060), body weight (x̄= −5.7±7.7, p=.057), and %BF (x̄= −1.8±2.5, p=.059) decreased in the CRT group trending towards significance. The CO group had significant reductions from baseline to post−intervention in DBP (−7.3±7.6mmHg, p<.05), bodyweight (−7.4±5.3lbs, p<.05), BMI (−1.2±0.9 kg/m2, p<.05) and body fat percentage (−2.8±2.5%, p<.05). The only significant difference in change variables between groups was log-adjusted 5-RM (p<.001). CONCLUSIONS Ten weeks of CO or CRT improve markers of metabolic health. Combing cardiovascular and resistance training may improve SBP and muscle strength to a greater extent than cardiovascular training alone, while cardiovascular training may have a greater impact on body weight and body fat percentage.