ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the effect of 10-week high-intensity intermittent training(HIIT) and maximum fat oxidation (FATmax)intensity training on body composition of female college students,and explore the difference between the 2 training types.Methods Thirty female college students were divided into an HIIT,an FATmax intensity training(FATmax)and a control(CON)group,each of 10.The HIIT and FATmax groups completed a 10-week high-intensity intermittent training and FATmax intensity continuous training with 90％ VO2 max and FATmax intensity respectively,while the CON group maintained the daily habitual behavior.The body weight,waist circumference,hip circumference and skinfold thickness of the triceps,midaxillary,chest,subscapular,abdomen,suprailiac and thigh were measured before and after the intervention.The body composition was evaluated using the Jackson/ Pollock seven-point method.Results The body max index(BMI),waist circumference,hip circumference and waist-hip ratio(WHR)decreased significantly in HIIT and FATmax groups after the 10-week training(P＜0.05),whereas the waist circumference and WHR of the CON group increased(P＜0.05).The decline rate of BMI,waist circumference,hip circumference and WHR of FATmax and HIIT groups were higher than that of the CON(P＜0.01),but there was no difference between the FATmax and HIIT groups.We further noticed no change in the bodyweight and body composition of the CON group,while a significant decrease in the bodyweight,fat percentage and fat mass (P＜0.001),but a significant increase(P＜0.01)in the lean body mass was observed in the FATmax and HIIT groups after the training.Ten weeks of HIIT significantly decreased the fat percentage and fat mass of the exercise groups compared with CON group(P＜0.05),and the rate of fat loss and lean body mass gain of the HIIT group was significantly higher than the FATmax group(P＜0.05).Moreover,the exercise intervention significantly decreased the skinfold thickness of the FATmax and HIIT groups(P＜0.001),but no changes in the CON group.Before the training,there was no significant difference in skinfold thickness among the three groups.However,after the training,the skinfold thickness of the chest,midaxillary,abdomen,suprailiac and thigh of the HIIT group was lower than CON(P＜0.05),and skinfold thickness of abdomen in HIIT group was lower than FATmax group(P＜0.05).Moreover,the decline rate of the skinfold thickness in the midaxillary,suprailiac,subscapular and thigh of the HIIT group was higher than the FATmax group(P＜0.05).Conclusion Both HITT and FATmax intensity continuous training of ten weeks sgnificantly improve the bodyweight,waist circumference,hip circumference and WHR without significant differences.Moreover,they both are effective in bettering the body composition and subcutaneous fat of female college students,with HITT superior to the FATmax intensity continuous training.