High-Intensity Exercise Best for Improving Body Composition
INDIANAPOLIS – Although any type of exercise is beneficial for health, high-intensity exercise is likely necessary to achieve significant improvements in body composition, according to a study released recently in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, the official journal of the American College of Sports Medicine.
Arthur Weltman, Ph.D., and his team studied 27 middle-aged obese women with metabolic syndrome – a group of risk factors that includes abdominal obesity, unhealthy cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, elevated triglycerides and elevated fasting glucose. Seven of the women did not change their activity levels; 11 performed low-intensity (~50-60 percent of maximum aerobic capacity) exercise five days per week; and nine performed low-intensity exercise two days and high-intensity exercise (~75-80 percent of maximum aerobic capacity) three days per week.
The high-intensity group reduced total abdominal fat, subcutaneous abdominal fat, and visceral abdominal fat during the 16-week exercise period. Visceral fat surrounds the organs (e.g., liver and kidneys), and excessive amounts are associated with the development of diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure.
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