Background: There is compelling evidence of an obesity phenomenon
worldwide and interest in structured physical activity in improvement on
overall health. Moderate to high levels of cardiorespiratory fitness and
muscular strength resulting from aerobic and strength training appears to be
protective against diabetes, CVD, and metabolic syndrome. Aerobic and
strength training have also been shown to have beneficial effects on metabolic
syndrome risk factors by improving in glucose metabolism, lipids profile,
blood pressure, and abdominal obesity via different physiological pathways.
Therefore, this study aims to investigate the effects of different modes of
training on metabolic syndromes risk factors among obese females. A total of
52 participants (22.71± 1.53 years old) participated in this study. Participants
were randomly assigned into aerobic (n=13), strength (n=13), concurrent
(n=13), and control (n=13) groups. Intervention groups (aerobic, strength and
concurrent) engaged in training 3 times weekly for 8 weeks, with
approximately one hour per session at moderate intensity (aerobic; 50-70%
of heart rate reserve, strength; 50-70% 1 repetition maximum). The
concurrent training group spent 30 minutes of aerobic exercise, followed by
30 minutes of strength exercise. Triglycerides (TG), high density lipoprotein
(HDL), fasting blood glucose (FBG), resting blood pressure (RBP), and waist
circumference (WC) were measured in this study. A significant improvement
(p < 0.05) was observed in fasting blood glucose (FBG), resting blood
pressure (RBP), and waist circumference (WC) in intervention groups. It can
be summarized that regular involvement in exercise was associated with a
reduction in most metabolic syndrome risk factors among obese females.