Table 5.
Clinical Trials of Exercise in Individuals Who Are Overweight or Obese
| Authors | Inclusion Criteria | Intervention Groups | Duration | No. Patients/No. Follow-up | Results | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wood et al., 1988 (297) | Men 120%–160% overweight | (1) Diet (−1 kg/wk); fat reduced by 30% | 1 year | (1) 51/42 | (1) BW −7.2 kg | TG and HDL cholesterol improved |
| (2) Individual instruction (−1 kg/wk); exercise (60%–80% of maximal physical capacity, 40–50 min, three to four times per week) | (2) 52/47 | Fat −5.9 kg | Diet and physical activity yield the same reduction in weight and fat at the same negative calorie balance | |||
| (3) Control | (3) 52/42 | (2) BW −4.0 kg | ||||
| Fat −4.2 kg | ||||||
| (3) BW +0.6 kg | ||||||
| Fat −0.3 kg | ||||||
| Wing et al., 1988 (298) | Women: 30–60 y with T2DM; >20% above ideal weight | (1) Diet (−1000 kcal/d) + walking (3 miles, three times per week) | 12 mo | (1) 12 | (1) BW −7.9 kg | HbA1C was reduced and medications were reduced in groups 1 and 2 |
| (2) Free diet + walking (3 miles, four times per week) | (2) 15 | (2) BW −7.9 kg | ||||
| (3) Diet + stretching | (3) 13 | (3) BW −3.8 kg | ||||
| Wood et al., 1991 (299) | Men and women: 25–49 y; overweight 120%–160% | (1) Diet (moderate reduction of energy, fat, cholesterol) | Bottom of form | (1) 87/71 | Men: | BP decreased in groups 1 and 2 (both men and women) |
| (2) Diet (as above) + exercise (60%–80% of maximal physical capacity, 25-45 min, three times per week) | (2) 90/81 | (1) BW −5.1 kg | Cholesterol decreased in groups 1 and 2 (women) | |||
| (3) Control | (3) 87/79 | (2) BW −8.7 kg | HDL cholesterol increased in group 2 (both men and women) | |||
| (3) BW +1.7 kg | TG decreased in group 2 (men) | |||||
| Women: | ||||||
| (1) BW −4.2 kg | ||||||
| (2) BW −5.5 kg | ||||||
| (3) BW +1.3 kg | ||||||
| Svendsen et al., 1994 (300) | Women: 49-58 y; BMI 25–42 kg/m2 | (1) Diet (4.2 MJ/d = 1000 kcal/d) | 2 wk with 6 mo follow-up | (1) 51/47 | 12 wk: | TG decreased and |
| (2) Diet (as above) + exercise (submaximal aerobics and body building) | (2) 49/47 | (1) BW −6.6 kg | HDL cholesterol increased | |||
| (3) Control | (3) 21/16 | (2) BW −10.9 kg | There was no effect from physical activity | |||
| (3) BW 0.0 kg | ||||||
| 6 mo: | ||||||
| (1) BW −8.0 kg | ||||||
| (2) BW −8.0 kg | ||||||
| (3) BW 0.0 kg | ||||||
| Pritchard et al., 1997 (301) | Men: overweight mean BMI 29 kg/m2 | (1) Diet (−500 kcal/d) + low fat | 12 mo | 66/60 | (1) BW −6.3 kg | Diet was “self-controlled” |
| (2) Exercise (65%–75% of maximal physical capacity, 45 min, three to seven times per week) | (2) BW −2.6 kg | |||||
| (3) Control | (3) BW +0.9 kg | |||||
| Irwin et al., 2003 (302) | Overweight nonsmoking postmenopausal women age 50–75 y with a BMI > 25 kg/m2 or BMI 24–25 and body fat > 33% by DXA who were sedentary at baseline (<60 min/wk of moderate to vigorous activity) and maximal oxygen uptake of <25 mL/kg/min | (1) Exercise [at least 45 min, moderate intensity, 5 d/wk, 12 mo (months 1–3 they attended three sessions per week; months 4–12 they attended one session per week)] | 12 mo | (1) 87/84 | (1) 3 mo: | Participants were advised to maintain usual diet |
| (2) Stretching (weekly sessions of 45 min for 12 mo) | (2) 86/86 | BW −0.5 | Weight loss was related to degree of exercise | |||
| 12 mo: | ||||||
| BW −1.3 kg | ||||||
| Fat −1.4 kg | ||||||
| VAT −8.5 cm2 | ||||||
| (2) 3 mo: | ||||||
| BW 0.0 kg | ||||||
| 12 mo: | ||||||
| BW 0.1 kg | ||||||
| Fat −0.1 kg | ||||||
| VAT 0.1 cm2 | ||||||
| Donnelly et al., 2003 (303) | Overweight men and women age 17–36 y with a BMI of 25.0–34.9 kg/m2 | (1) Exercise (400 kcal/d, 5 d/wk with walking on a treadmill at 55%–70% of maximal physical capacity uptake) | 16 mo of verified exercise | (1) 87/41 | (1) Men | Exercise produced weight loss in men and prevented weight gain in women |
| (2) Control | (2) 44/33 | BW −5.2 kg | ||||
| Fat −4.9 kg | ||||||
| VAT −22.4 cm2 | ||||||
| Women | ||||||
| BW +0.4 kg | ||||||
| (1) Fat −0.2 kg | ||||||
| VAT −3.2 cm2 | ||||||
| (2) Men | ||||||
| BW −0.5 kg | ||||||
| Fat −0.7 kg | ||||||
| VAT −6.3 cm2 | ||||||
| Women | ||||||
| BW +2.9 kg | ||||||
| Fat +2.0 kg | ||||||
| VAT +3.1 cm2 | ||||||
| Slentz et al., 2004 (304) | Men and women age 40–60 y and BMI of 25–35 kg/m2 and mild to moderate lipid abnormalities | (1) Exercise [high amount/vigorous intensity, calorically equivalent to ∼20 miles (32.0 km) of jogging per week at 65%–80% maximal physical capacity] | 8 mo of observed exercise | (1) 44/17 | (1) BW −3.5 kg | Subjects were counseled not to change diets and encouraged to maintain body weight. |
| (2) Exercise [low amount/vigorous intensity, equivalent to ∼12 miles (19.2 km) of jogging per week at 65%–80%] | (2) 52/24 | Fat 4.9 kg | ||||
| (3) Exercise [low amount/moderate intensity, equivalent to ∼12 miles (19.2 km) of walking per week at 40%–55%] | (3) 42/14 | Waist −3.4 cm | ||||
| (4) Control | (4) 44/7 | (2) BW −1.1 kg | ||||
| Fat −2.6 kg | ||||||
| Waist −1.4 cm | ||||||
| (3) BW −1.3 kg | ||||||
| Fat −2.0 kg | ||||||
| Waist −1.1 cm | ||||||
| (4) BW 1.1 kg | ||||||
| Fat 0.5 kg | ||||||
| Waist 0.8 cm |
Abbreviations: BW, body weight; DXA, dual x-ray absorptiometry; TG, triglyceride; VAT, visceral adipose tissue.
Adapted and updated from Östman et al., 2004 (296).