RESUMO
The purpose of this study was to determine the loss of visceral fat during weight loss program with diet only or diet plus exercise in premenopausal obese women (age 44±6 yr) . One hundred seventeen women (body mass index 29±3 kg /m<SUP>2</SUP>) were divided into diet only group (DO, n=40) and diet plus exercise group (DE, n=77) . DE was further divided into two groups: a group with a small change in VO<SUB>2</SUB>max (DE<SUB>1</SUB>, n=26) and a group with a large change in VO<SUB>2</SUB>max (DE<SUB>2</SUB>, n=51) . Height, weight, fat mass, %fat, fat-free mass (FFM), abdominal total fat area (TFA), visceral fat area (VFA), subcutaneous fat area (SFA) and VO<SUB>2</SUB>max (ml/kg FFM/min) were measured before and after weight loss. The changes of weight, fat mass, %fat were significantly larger in DE than in DO. No difference was found in the changes of weight, fat mass, %fat between the DE<SUB>1</SUB> and DE<SUB>2</SUB>. Percentage of change in VFA was significantly larger in DE<SUB>2</SUB> (41±15%) than in DE<SUB>1</SUB> (31±16%) . These data suggest that both weight-loss programs (DO and DE) contribute to a remarkable decrease in visceral fat. Addition of exercise training, which would induce an improvement in VO<SUB>2</SUB>max, to dietary restriction, may elicit a greater effect on visceral fat.
