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Effects of a 12-week combined exercise-nutrition intervention on body composition, physical fitness, and lifestyle disease indicators in women with normal weight obesity

Year: 2025

Type: article

Study designs: Randomized Controlled Trial, Clinical Trial

Abstract: PURPOSE: This study investigated the effects of 12 weeks of nutrition education and combined exercise training on body composition, physical fitness, and lifestyle disease indicators in women with normal weight obesity (NWO). METHODS: Twenty-six women with NWO in their 30s (BMI 18.5-22.9 kg/m2, body fat ≥ 30%) were randomly assigned to either a diet education and exercise training group (DE+TR; n = 13) or a diet education only group (DE; n = 13). The DE+TR group performed 80 minutes of combined exercise (40 min aerobic + 40 min resistance) three days per week for 12 weeks with nutrition education. The DE group received nutrition education only. Body composition, physical fitness, and lifestyle disease indicators were measured pre- and post-intervention using two-way repeated measures ANOVA. RESULTS: Body fat mass and body fat percentage decreased significantly in both groups, while fat-free mass increased only in the DE+TR group (p < .05). Physical fitness parameters (grip strength, sit-ups, flexibility, standing long jump, VO2max) and all 1-RM tests improved significantly only in the DE+TR group. Lifestyle disease indicators improved significantly in the DE+TR group: hypertension markers (heart rate, systolic blood pressure, mean arterial pressure, rate pressure product), diabetes markers (fasting glucose, insulin, HOMA-IR), lipid profiles (total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL-C, HDL-C), and atherosclerosis risk ratios all showed favorable changes (p < .05). CONCLUSION: Twelve weeks of combined nutrition education and exercise training effectively improves body composition, physical fitness, and lifestyle disease indicators in women with NWO, providing more comprehensive health benefits than nutrition education alone. From a public health perspective, these findings support the implementation of combined exercise-nutrition programs in community health centers and workplace wellness programs for women identified with NWO.

Source: Physical Activity and Nutrition

DOI: 10.20463/pan.2025.0035

Authors: Dasom Heo, Man-Gyoon Lee, Won-Sang Jung

Institutions: Dongseo University, Kyung Hee University

Language: English

Topic: Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet

Subfield: Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: diamond

Funders: National Research Foundation, Dongseo University, Ministry of Education, National Research Foundation of Korea