A 10-week aerobic exercise program reduces cardiometabolic disease risk in overweight/obese female African university students.

OBJECTIVES The prevalence of obesity and associated cardiometabolic disease (CMD) is increasing among Black African women and requires urgent attention in the form of preventive strategies. To date, there is limited scientific evidence highlighting the efficacy of Tae-bo as an intervention for reducing weight and CMD risk factors. DESIGN Prospective experimental. SETTING South Africa, University of Zululand. PARTICIPANTS Sixty previously sedentary participants (25 +/- 5 y) who were overweight (BMI>25-29.9 kg/m2) or obese (BMI> or =30-39.9 kg/m2). INTERVENTION Participants performed a 10-week aerobic (Tae-bo) program 60 min/day for three days a week at moderate intensity for the first five weeks and high intensity for the last five weeks. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Anthropometric parameters (height, weight, waist and hip circumference and sum of skinfolds), blood pressure, fasting glucose, and lipoproteins were measured at baseline, after six weeks and 24 hours after completion of the 10-week program. Data was analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA and a Tukey Post hoc test. RESULTS The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 26.7% pre-intervention and decreased to 16.3% post intervention. There was a statistically significant (P< or =.05) improvement in weight, BMI, waist and hip circumference, glucose, triglycerides, total cholesterol, LDL-C, HDL-C, resting heart rate and resting systolic and diastolic blood pressures following the intervention. CONCLUSION A 10-week 30-session Tae-bo exercise program was effective in reducing traditional risk factors associated with cardio-metabolic disease in overweight/obese university students.