Effects of weight training in obese man

94 R.

RAHIMI

NTRODUCTION

Body composition refers to the constituents of your body-lean mass, fat mass and

water, and is not only important for athletes, since an athlete's performance is partially
influenced by the proportion of his fat-free mass (FFM) and fat mass (FM), but also for
individuals of all ages, gender and ethnic groups. According to the ACSM position on the
matter (2001), obesity has been shown to be associated with heart disease (Shaper et al.,
1997; Willett, et al., 1985), diabetes (Lew & Garfinkel, 1979; Colditz et al., 1990), cancer
(Garfinkel, 1986; Giovannucci et al., 1995), heyperlipidemia (Ashley et al., 1974;
Hershcopf et al., 1982), and hypertension (Flegal et al., 1998).

In order to maintain one's ideal body weight, the energy consumed needs to equal the

energy output, and when these are equal, one is said to have an energy balance. In order
to gain or lose weight, each side of the equation needs to be adjusted. Exercise appears to
play a critical role in body weight control management (Kraemer et al., 1993, Marra et
al., 2005). It's important to consider the duration, intensity, and type of exercise that
should be recommended for weight loss.

It has been shown that aerobic exercise can be an important component of weight loss

intervention (Tremblay et al., 1994; Aggel-Leijssen et al., 2002), and, therefore, com-
monly included as part of a comprehensive weight loss management program. However,
there is a controversy over whether high intensity exercise or low intensity exercise is
more important for stimulating a decrease in the body fat content.

Girandola et al. (1979) and Swenson & Conlee (1979) reported that the percent of fat

decreases more from low intensity (LI) than high intensity (HI) aerobic exercise. How-
ever, other studies have reported no differences on %BF between LI and HI aerobic exer-
cise in overweight sedentary women (Duncan et al., 1991; Jakici et al., 2003). Van Ag-
gel-Leijssen et al. (2002) also reported no %BF differences between LI (40% VO2max)
and HI (70% VO2max) exercise after 12 weeks in obese men. Nevertheless, Bryner et al.
(1997), and Tremblay et al. (1994) reported that relative body fat decreases more in
young overweight women in the case of HI rather than LI aerobic exercise.

Although most research studies have examined the effect of endurance exercise on

weight loss, weight training has recently become an important component of a successful
weight loss program by helping to preserve FFM and maximizing fat loss (Ballor et al.,
1988; Geliebter et al., 1997; Osterberg & Melby, 2000). Gettman and Pollock (1981)
summarized the effects of five weight training and six circuit weight training studies on
changes in body composition. The studies showed a mean decrease in body weight of 0.12
kg, increase in lean body mass of 1.5 kg, and a decrease in fat mass of 1.7 kg. Campbell et
al. (1995) reported that resting metabolic rate and energy intake required to maintain body
weight significantly increased in older adults following 12 weeks of strength training.

Recently, the effects of excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) on weight

management have appeared (Osterberg et al., 2000). Because the body continues to ex-
pend energy after exercise, EPOC plays a supplemental role in an exercise program in
weight management. Holtom et al. (1999) have shown that a high-intensity, intermittent-
type of training has a more pronounced effect on EPOC. Also, it appears that resistance
training produces grater EPOC responses than aerobic exercise (Burleson et al. 1998).
Unfortunately; because of conflicting studies, the impact of resistance exercise intensity
on body fat stores in overweight men is still unclear. Thus, the purpose of this study was
to determine the effect of HI and moderate intensity (MI) weight training, of equal work
output, on body composition in overweight young men.

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