IPB Researchers Trained Obese Adolescents to Reduce Body Weight
Adolescence is a very vulnerable time to the development of obesity caused by physical activity degradation and growth rate deceleration. The adequate physical activity provides an important role in preventing overweight and obesity in adolescents.
Three researchers from the Department of Community Nutrition, Faculty of Human Ecology (Fema) of Bogor Agricultural University (IPB), Hadi Riyadi, Ramadhana Komala and Budi Setiawan, conducted experiments related to the moderate and severe exercises of obese adolescents in improving VO2max (aerobic fitness), body mass index and percentage of body fat.
The intensity of exercise is useful for aerobic fitness improvement (VO2max), body mass index (BMI) and percentage of body fat (PLT). Studies comparing moderate and severe exercises intensity towards aerobic fitness, nutritional status and body fat percentage are lacking. "Therefore, it is necessary to study the effects of moderate and severe intensity exercises on VO2max, nutritional status and body fat percentage in obese adolescents," Hadi said.
In their experiment, a total of 30 obese adolescences were randomly assigned and included in three groups: control group, moderate intensity training (MIT) group, and group with high intensity of interval training (HIIT).
The MIT and HIIT group performed the exercises using a treadmill for 40 minutes three times per week for six weeks. Exercises on the subjects of the MIT and HIIT groups began with five minutes of preheating by running on a treadmill at 50-55% HRmax. After heating, the MIT group ran for 30 minutes at 65-70% HRmax, while the HIIT group was required to run for two minutes at 90-95% HRmax with one minute of active recovery at 55% HRmax between each interval for a total of 30 minutes. The exercise ended with five minutes of cooling at 50-55% HRmax.
The results of this study indicated that the HIIT group significantly increased the VO2max greater than the MIT group. The reduction of body mass index and percentage of body fat significantly occurred in the MIT and HIIT groups compared to the control group.
These researchers concluded that the six-week HIIT could increase VO2max larger than the MIT group. MIT and HIIT are equally effective in lowering body mass index and percentage of body fat in obese adolescents. (TK)
