Effect of Concurrent Circuit Exercise Program on Risk Factors for Metabolic Syndrome in Women

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the effect of concurrent circuit exercise program on the risk factors for the metabolic syndrome in women. Twenty-four healthy middle-aged women were participated, and equally assigned into either the concurrent circuit exercise group (CCEG) or the control group (CONG). The concurrent circuit exercise is a combination of both aerobic and hydraulic resistance exercise. Subjects in CCEG performed a concurrent circuit exercise 3 times per week for 12 weeks. The exercise program was composed of 20-30 min main exercise that maintained the intensity at 60-80% HR_(max) of subject's heart rate, and 6-min stretching exercise. Subjects in CONG did not participate in any exercise program during the experimental period. The body weight, body fat percentage, waist-to-hip ratio, and blood pressure of all subjects were assessed before and after 12-week exercise program. Fasting blood samples were collected to determine the level of blood glucose, triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. The low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and atherosclerosis index (AI) were calculated. The results indicated that CCEG subjects showed significantly lower diastolic blood pressure, blood glucose, TG and AI values after 12-week exercise. However, such beneficial effect was not observed in CONG subjects at the end of the experiment. Moreover, average diastolic blood pressure of subjects in CCEG was significantly lower than CONG subjects. This study concludes that 12-week concurrent circuit exercise program could effectively lower the blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, TG, and AI, which are the risk factors for metabolic syndrome in women.