Independent and cumulative effect of diet and exercise on reduction of adiposity measures among obese people
Abstract
Purpose
The epidemic of obesity is escalating worldwide. This paper aims to focus on feasible and affordable measures to reduce obesity among sedentary persons aged 30 to 50 years, to provide suitable intervention to overcome excess body weight and to prevent further weight gain. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to examine such effects in India.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 288 sedentary office going people were motivated to reduce weight and on the basis of their being obese and willingness to participate in the study, 144 of them were selected for the intervention study. They were randomly divided into four groups. Subjects of Group I formed the control, Group II were given a high fiber and low glycemic diet mix, Group III participated in an exercise program and Group IV followed both. Anthropometric measurements were measured initially and at 30 days of interval up to 120 days, and biochemical tests were done before and after the intervention.
Findings
The subjects in Groups II, III and IV had 5 per cent reduction in anthropometric measurements. The biochemical tests revealed that the rate of decrease of mean total cholesterol and low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol were greatest in Group II. In Group IV, there was maximum decrease of mean total cholesterol and high density lipoprotein (HDL) ratio, mean LDL and HDL ratio, mean fasting blood glucose and also a favorable increase of HDL cholesterol. In Group III, there was maximum increase of hemoglobin. All the central obesity measures, except body mass index, are highly and positively correlated with the biochemical parameters.
Research limitations/implications
It was observed that, in some individuals, the weight loss was 8 to 10 kg, and for a few, the weight loss was less in the range of 1 to 2 kg. This indicated that the same kind of diet and exercise brought about weight reduction to different extents due to individual response. Because of the individual differences, there is a need to highlight the response of the intervention by examining the individual variability referring to age and gender rather than pooling the mean data.
Originality/value
It was observed that the inclusion of high fiber and low glycemic diet in the intervention had a profound influence in the reduction of weight. Exercise alone may not be very effective when opted as a single measure for reducing obesity, and it can only act as a complementary program along with diet for any weight reduction program.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public. The author acknowledges M/s Pillsbury, Mumbai, for sponsoring wheat flour, and wheat bran for the intervention study by using diet. M/s Thyrocare, Mumbai, helped the research by giving concession for analysis of blood parameters.
Conflict of interest: There are no conflicts of interest.
Author Contribution: This study is part of the PhD, dissertation work carried out by the first author. She conceived the study, secured the funding and wrote a first draft. The second author contributed to the design of study, discussed concepts and critically reviewed the study design, methods of study and drafts of the manuscript. The third author contributed to the methods of study and drafts of the manuscript.
Citation
Kamalasundari, S., Hemalatha, G. and Raghavan, P.M. (2016), "Independent and cumulative effect of diet and exercise on reduction of adiposity measures among obese people", Nutrition & Food Science, Vol. 46 No. 6, pp. 730-741. https://doi.org/10.1108/NFS-03-2016-0030
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2016, Emerald Group Publishing Limited