Can an Eight-Week Exercise Program for Young Women with Normal-Weight Obesity Improve Body Composition, Cardiorespiratory Fitness, and Selected Cardiometabolic Markers? A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background

Body mass index (BMI) screening may fail to identify normal-weight obesity (NWO) despite excess adiposity and unfavorable metabolic profiles.

Methods

In this randomized trial, 30 women (aged 20–39 years; BMI 18.5–24.9 kg/m2, body fat ≥ 30%) were assigned to supervised exercise or non-exercise control groups. The exercise group trained three days per week for eight weeks. Body fat percentage was the primary outcome. Secondary outcomes included body mass, BMI, fat mass, fat-free mass, skeletal muscle mass, VO2max, fasting glucose and insulin, homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), and lipid profile. High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) were exploratory outcomes.

Results