Effects of different training protocols on exercise performance during a short-term body weight reduction programme in severely obese patients

The effects on aerobic, anaerobic and strength performance of aerobic (A) or A and strength (AS) training, integrated with a 3-week body weight reduction programme involving an energy-restricted diet, nutritional education and psychological counselling, were evaluated in 52 grade II or III obese individuals (A: n=26; AS: n=26). After 3 weeks, both training programmes led to a similar and significant reduction (p<0.001) in body mass (A:4.8%; AS: 4.4%) and an increase (p<0.05 - p<0.01) in maximal oxygen consumption (A:16.8%; AS: 10.9%). A significant (p<0.05 - p<0.001) increase was found in absolute lower limb anaerobic power output evaluated by means of a jumping test (A: 13.7%; AS: 18.1%) and stair climbing test (A: 9.7%; AS: 4.3%), without any significant difference between A and AS. A comparable and significant (p<0.01) increase was also found in average horizontal velocity during a short sprint running test (A: 8.1%; AS: 7.1%), with a shorter time of footground contact (A: 4.9%; AS: 6.6.%) and a higher step frequency (A: 4.0%; AS: 10.4%). The maximum strength increase after the body weight reduction programme determined by one maximal repetition test of lower and upper limb muscle groups was significantly greater (p<0.05 - p<0.001) in the AS group, ranging from 11.4% to 25.4% (A) and from 26.7% to 41.8% (AS). These results indicate that integrating a body weight reduction programme involving diet, nutritional education and psychological counselling with A or AS exercise has similar positive effects in lowering body mass and improving A and anaerobic performance. However, the addition of strength training to A conditioning increases maximum strength.