Promoting a Physically Active Lifestyle through Alternative Forms of Exercise

Abstract

0949 Traditionally, weight loss programs have prescribed aerobic exercise such as walking as the primary form of exercise. However, it is unclear if exercise such as resistance exercise and yoga added to traditional aerobic exercise would improve participation during periods of weight loss. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine patterns of exercise participation including walking, resistance, and yoga exercise in overweight women participating in a behavioral weight loss program. METHODS: Fifty nine (BMI = 30.7+/−2.7 kg/m2), sedentary women (age = 44.9+/−6.7 yrs) were randomized to an initial 16 weeks of a behavioral weight loss program. Subjects were prescribed an energy intake of 1200–1500 kcal/d and dietary fat to < 30% of total calories. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of the following conditions: 1) AERO: aerobic exercise (40 min/d, 5 d/wk) 2) RES: aerobic exercise + resistance exercise using a home exercise machine (40 min/d, 5 d/wk aerobic + 3 d/wk of resistance exercise) or 3) YOGA: aerobic exercise + yoga exercise following a yoga video (40 min/d, 5 d/wk aerobic + 3 d/wk of yoga). RES and YOGA were provided with one supervised exercise session at the weekly behavioral group meeting. RESULTS: Based on completion of diary data following the initial 16 weeks of treatment, aerobic exercise participation was 6.1 +/− 2.5, 6.1 +/− 2.0, and 5.9 +/− 1.6 sessions/wk for AERO, RES and YOGA, respectively (p > 0.05). RES and YOGA returned a greater number of exercise diaries than AERO (13.8 and 14.0 vs. 11.4, p < 0.05). Aerobic exercise was significantly correlated with weight loss for AERO (r = 0.65, p < 0.001) and RES (r = 0.44, p < 0.001), but not for YOGA (r = 0.33). For RES, completion of resistance exercise was significantly correlated with weight loss (r = 0.53, p < 0.05). For YOGA, completion of yoga exercise was significantly correlated with weight loss (r = 0.69, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Aerobic exercise is significantly correlated with weight loss within the context of a behavior weight loss program. Moreover, the completion of additional resistance or yoga exercise is associated with improved weight loss. Thus, it is important to examine the long-term impact of these interventions in overweight adults. Supported by the National Institutes of Health (HL64991)