Ben Cheikh Imen, Marzouki Hamza, Selmi Okba, Cherni Bilel, Bouray Siwar, Bouhlel Ezdine, Bouassida Anissa, Knechtle Beat, Chen Yung-Sheng
Research Unit: Sport Sciences, Health and Movement, University of Jendouba, El Kef, Tunisia.
High Institute of Sport and Physical Education of Kef, University of Jendouba, El Kef, Tunisia.
PeerJ. 2025 Feb 21;13:e19020. doi: 10.7717/peerj.19020. eCollection 2025.
Obesity is a major health concern that raises the risk of chronic illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes, and metabolic disorders. Traditional workouts such as running or walking can be difficult for overweight individuals due to the heavy impact on joints, which causes discomfort and the possibility of injury. Water-based exercises offer a low-impact alternative that overweight people may find more tolerable. There is minimal research on the specific effects of structured water aerobic exercise on health markers in young overweight and obese women, despite the acknowledged benefits of physical activity for weight control and overall health. This study aimed to assess the effects of 10-week water-based aerobic training (thrice a week) on anthropometric, biochemical, cardiovascular parameters, and explosive strength in young overweight and obese women.
In a randomized controlled trial with a pre-to-post testing design, twenty-seven young overweight and obese women (age: 27 ± 1 years; body mass index (BMI) = 30.0 ± 3.1) were randomly assigned into experimental (EG: performing a water-based aerobic training, = 16) or control (CG: maintaining their usual activities during the intervention, = 11) groups. The pre- and post-intervention participants were assessed for their anthropometrics (body height, body weight, body mass index (BMI), body fat and circumferences), biochemical (fasting glycemia, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and triglyceride (TG)), cardiovascular parameters (resting blood pressure and resting heart rate (RHR)), and explosive strength of upper and lower limbs.
EG showed reductions in body weight, BMI, %BF, fasting glycemia, and TG, along with improvements in HDL-C, LDL-C, RHR, and explosive strength (all < 0.05; effect size (ES) = 0.180-1.512, trivial to large). In contrast, CG exhibited increases in body weight, BMI, fasting glycemia, LDL-C, and RHR (all < 0.05; ES = 0.127-0.993, trivial to large), with no significant changes observed in other measured variables. EG showed superior post-test results in fasting glycemia ( < 0.0001; ES = 2.559, large), LDL-C ( < 0.0001; ES = 0.971, large), and explosive strength measures (0.003 ≤ < 0.0001; ES = 1.145-1.311, large) compared to the CG.
Our findings indicate that water-based aerobic training could be a useful program to enhance anthropometric, biochemical, cardiovascular, and explosive strength parameters in young overweight and obese women compared to inactive persons.
肥胖是一个主要的健康问题，它会增加患慢性疾病的风险，如心脏病、糖尿病和代谢紊乱。由于跑步或步行等传统锻炼方式对关节的冲击力较大，超重者进行这些锻炼可能会很困难，这会导致不适和受伤的可能性。水上运动提供了一种低冲击力的选择，超重者可能会觉得更容易忍受。尽管体育活动对体重控制和整体健康有益，但关于结构化水上有氧运动对年轻超重和肥胖女性健康指标的具体影响的研究很少。本研究旨在评估为期10周的水上有氧训练（每周三次）对年轻超重和肥胖女性的人体测量学、生化指标、心血管参数和爆发力的影响。
在一项采用前后测试设计的随机对照试验中，27名年轻超重和肥胖女性（年龄：27±1岁；体重指数（BMI）=30.0±3.1）被随机分为实验组（EG：进行水上有氧训练，n=16）或对照组（CG：在干预期间保持日常活动，n=11）。在干预前后，对参与者进行人体测量学（身高、体重、体重指数（BMI）、体脂和周长）、生化指标（空腹血糖、总胆固醇、高密度脂蛋白胆固醇（HDL-C）、低密度脂蛋白胆固醇（LDL-C）和甘油三酯（TG））、心血管参数（静息血压和静息心率（RHR））以及上下肢爆发力的评估。
实验组体重、BMI、%BF、空腹血糖和TG降低，HDL-C、LDL-C、RHR和爆发力提高（均P<0.05；效应大小（ES）=0.180-1.512，从微不足道到较大）。相比之下，对照组体重、BMI、空腹血糖、LDL-C和RHR增加（均P<0.05；ES=0.127-0.993，从微不足道到较大），其他测量变量未观察到显著变化。与对照组相比，实验组在空腹血糖（P<0.0001；ES=2.559，大）、LDL-C（P<0.0001；ES=0.971，大）和爆发力测量方面（0.003≤P<0.0001；ES=1.145-1.311，大）的测试后结果更好。
我们的研究结果表明，与不运动的人相比，水上有氧训练可能是一个有助于改善年轻超重和肥胖女性人体测量学、生化指标、心血管和爆发力参数的有用方案。
