Effects of high- and moderate-intensity continuous training on the abdominal visceral fat of obese female college students / 中华物理医学与康复杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To compare the effect of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) on the abdominal visceral fat of obese women.Methods:Sixty-eight obese female college students were randomly divided into an HIIT group ( n=23), an MICT group ( n=22) and a control group ( n=23). The control group was not given any training intervention. The MICT group performed continuous exercise at an intensity of 60% of each person′s maximum oxygen uptake (VO 2max) until 300kJ of work had been performed. Those in the HIIT group performed repeated 4-minute bouts of cycling at 90% of their VO 2max with 3-minute intervals until 300kJ of work had been performed. The interventions lasted 12 weeks. The subjects′ visceral fat (AVFA) and abdominal subcutaneous fat (ASFA) were measured using computed tomography. Whole-body fat mass (FM) and FM in the android, gynoid and trunk regions were detected using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry before and 48 hours after the final session. Results:After the intervention, the average AVFA, ASFA, percentage of fat mass (FM%), whole-body FM, and FM in the abdominal, gluteo-femoral and trunk regions of the HIIT group and MICT group were significantly lower than before the intervention, but there was no significant difference between them. No significant differences were observed in any of the control group′s indexes.Conclusions:Both HIIT and MICT can reduce the abdominal visceral fat of obese female college students, and the effects of the two exercise modes are equivalent.