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JOURNAL
OF
SPORTS SCIENCE &
MEDICINE
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Research
article
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A RANDOMISED PLACEBO-EXERCISE CONTROLLED TRIAL OF KUNG FU TRAINING FOR IMPROVEMENTS IN BODY COMPOSITION IN OVERWEIGHT/OBESE ADOLESCENTS: THE "MARTIAL FITNESS" STUDY |
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Tracey W. Tsang1  ,
Michael Kohn2, Chin Moi Chow1 and Fiatarone Singh M1 |
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1Exercise, Health & Performance Faculty Research Group, Faculty of Health Sciences, The University of Sydney, Australia, 2Centre for Research into Adolescent Health, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Australia . |
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© Journal of Sports Science and Medicine (2009) 8, 97 - 106 Search Google Scholar for Citing Articles |
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| ABSTRACT | |||
| The purpose of the study was to investigate if Chinese martial
arts (Kung Fu, KF) might be effective for improving body composition, as
well as being an appealing form of physical activity for inexperienced,
sedentary, overweight/obese adolescents. Twenty subjects (age: 13.3 ± 1.8
y; BMI percentile: 98.6(86.5 - 99.8); 60% girls) were randomly-assigned
to the supervised KF or placebo (Tai Chi, TC) control group 3 d.wk-1
for 6 months. We assessed body composition, including total and regional
fat and lean mass, total and regional bone mineral density (BMD), percent
lean and fat mass, body mass index and waist circumference, at baseline
and after 6 months of training using anthropometry and dual-energy X-ray
absorptiometry (DXA). Habitual physical activity and dietary intake were
recorded as covariates via self-report at each time-point. As expected due
to natural growth, significant increases in height, weight, total and lumbar
BMD, and lean mass were seen in the cohort over time, with a trend for increased
whole body fat mass, with no difference between groups. By contrast, percent
fat and android fat mass via DXA did not increase in either group over time.
The absence of a similar expected increase in central adiposity over 6 months
could indicate a positive effect of participation in both programs on the
metabolically critical abdominal adiposity in this cohort. Further research
in this area is warranted to determine ways to increase uptake and compliance,
and to see if longer-term martial arts training not only maintains, but
improves abdominal fat mass and related metabolic health indices in overweight/
obese adolescents.
Key words: Adolescents, Obesity, Exercise, Martial arts. |
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