Exercise in the treatment of obesity: effects of four interventions on body composition, resting energy expenditure, appetite, and mood.

This study investigated changes in body composition, resting energy expenditure (REE), appetite, and mood in 128 obese women who were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 treatment conditions: diet alone, diet plus aerobic training, diet plus strength training, or diet combined with aerobic and strength training (i.e., combined training). All women received the same 48-week group behavioral program and were prescribed the same diet. Exercising participants were provided 3 supervised exercise sessions per week for the first 28 weeks and 2 sessions weekly thereafter. Participants across the 4 conditions achieved a mean weight loss of 16.5 +/- 6.8 kg at Week 24, which decreased to 15.1 +/- 8.4 kg at Week 48. There were no significant differences among conditions at any time in changes in weight or body composition. Women who received aerobic training displayed significantly smaller reductions in REE at Week 24 than did those who received strength training. There were no other significant differences among conditions at any time on this variable or in changes in appetite and mood.