Effects of exercise on obesity in patients with heart disease.

PURPOSE: To determine the effects of exercise on waist circumference and plasma lipids in obese men with heart disease. METHODS: Ten obese men with heart disease were randomly assigned to participate either in a control group (n=5)or in a three month exercise group(n=5). Measurements were taken of the waist circumference, total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein(HDL-C), and triglyceride(TG). Participants in the exercise group were asked to perform exercise that expended 200 kcal day beyond their usual level of physical activity. All patients were asked to maintain all isocaloric diet for the duration of the treatment period. RESULTS: The patients in the exercise group increased their physical activity by a mean of 237.4 kcal/day (p < 0.01)from pre- to post-intervention. Waist circumference decreased in the exercise group significantly (94.4 ± 3.7 ± 92.9 ± 4.6cm ; p <0.05)and did not change in the control group. The level of TC, HDL-C and TG did not change in either of the groups. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicated that a 3 month exercise training program induces favorable alterations of waist circumference in obese men with heart disease. However, there were no effects on the plasma lipid levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]