Ejercicio o prescripción dietética: efectos sobre la salud en mujeres inactivas con malnutrición por exceso / Effects of an exercise program or a dietary prescription in overweight or obese women

Background Physical activity and dietary prescription are the mainstay of overweight and obesity management. Aim To compare the effects of physical activity or dietary management in overweight or obese sedentary women. Material and Methods Thirty-four physically inactive adult women with overweight or obesity, were intentionally divided into three groups: controls (C), exercise (E) and dietary prescription (DP). Women in the E group were trained in a circuit for twelve weeks and a hypocaloric diet was prescribed to those in the DP group. Blood pressure, body composition and phase angle (FA) measured using bioimpedance and dynamometry, were measured at baseline and the end of the intervention. Results Women in the E group had a significant increase in muscle mass and intracellular water and significant decreases in systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels. No significant differences in dynamometry were observed between groups. The DP group had significant decreases in body weight, fat mass, body mass index, waist circumference, systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Conclusions The DP group had a higher weight reduction than the E group. Dietary prescription should be complemented with a physical activity program in the management of overweight or obesity.

Comparación de la composición corporal y de la masa muscular por segmentos corporales, en estudiantes de educación física y deportistas de distintas disciplinas / Comparison of body composition and muscle mass body segment in students of physical education and sports of different disciplines

Las ecuaciones antropométricas para estimar la masa muscular, permiten obtener los valores de sólo la masa muscular total (MM total). En un reciente trabajo (Rodríguez et al., 2010), propone una ecuación para la estimación de la masa muscular de los miembros superiores e inferiores. Se evalúan 68 sujetos, estudiantes de educación física, rugbistas, futbolistas y gimnastas. El grupo de rugbistas presenta mayor cantidad de masa muscular en los miembros superiores (MMES) que el resto de los grupos. La MM total y la Masa muscular de los miembros inferiores (MMEI) son significativamente más altas en los rugbistas y futbolistas en comparación a los otros sujetos. La distribución de la masa muscular por regiones corporales es distinta entre las disciplinas deportivas, ya que los requerimientos musculares difieren de uno a otro, volviéndose cada deportista, especialista en su área de desarrollo motriz. La MMEI representa más de mitad de la MM total, por lo tanto a mayor MMEI, mayor MM total.

The anthropometric equations for estimating muscle mass provide the values of total muscle mass (MM total)only. In a recent paper (Rodriguez et al., 2010) proposed an equation to estimate muscle mass in the upper and lower limb. We evaluated 68 subjects, physical education students, rugby players, football players and gymnasts. The rugby group had a greater amount of muscle mass in the upper limb (MMES) than other groups. The MM and total muscle mass of the lower limb (MMEI) was significantly higher in rugby players, compared to other subjects. The distribution of muscle mass by body regions was different between sports, since the requirements differ from one muscle to another, with each athlete becoming a specialist in his or her area of motor development. MMEI mass represents more than half the total MM therefore higher MMEI, increased total MM.