Effects of Online-based Exercise on Body Composition and Muscular Function during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

OBJECTIVES This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of online-based and non-face-to-face exercise on body composition and muscular function in physically inactive females during the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.METHODS This study included 21 physically inactive women with a mean age of 40.57 years. All participants engaged in 10 weeks (three times per week) of online-based and non-face-to-face exercise during the COVID-19 pandemic using the Zoom application, an online communication platform. The mean attendance rate for the 30 sessions of the exercise program was 97.6%. We used a computer tomography scan to assess the cross-sectional area of visceral fat and thigh muscles. In addition, we evaluated the muscular function by measuring the isokinetic peak torque of the knee joint at three angular velocities (60°/s, 90°/s, and 180°/s), as well as lower-limb proprioception (joint position and force senses in the knee joint).RESULTS After 10 weeks of online-based exercise, the visceral fat area significantly decreased (-3.1%, p=0.03), while thigh muscles increased (+2.0%, p=0.001). Isokinetic peak torque increased significantly at 60°/s (flexion: +9.2% and extension: +13.7%) and 180°/s (flexion: +12.0% and extension: +12.3%). Similar results were obtained regarding body weight (p<0.01 and p<0.001, respectively). A significant improvement of up to 42% was obtained for joint position and force senses (p<0.01 and p<0.05).CONCLUSIONS This study showed a decrease in visceral fat area and an increase in muscle area, as well as improved muscular function, including isokinetic peak torque in the knee joint and lower body proprioception, in physically inactive women following online-based exercise. Online-based and nonface-to-face exercise can be a suitable alternative to improve body composition and muscular function for physically inactive individuals, even post-pandemic.