[Evaluation of the effectiveness of a physical exercise program in weight reduction]

To evaluate the effectiveness of a programme of individualised physical exercise in reducing fat weight.

A randomised preventive trial.

Health Centre.

Obese people of both sexes, between 32 and 67 years old and with a fat percentage of 20-45% (men)/25-50% (women), were selected at random from among chronic patients at the Centre, with the exclusion of patients with heart diseases and of others with pathologies which made the programme's completion difficult. Two samples, comparable in gender, age and fat percentage (n1=49, n2=47), were obtained.

THE study lasted 6 months, with 3 evaluations. The Intervention Group (G1) was advised to walk: the frequency, length and intensity of the exercise was calculated individually with a computer programme. Measurements and main results. Weight, height and 4 cutaneous folds were measured in each evaluation, where the Index of corporal mass (ICM), fat percentage and fat weight (FW) were calculated. The programme's acceptance was assessed according to compliance and subjective improvement. In the last evaluation, the GI achieved a 2.9% average decrease in the ICM, with no appreciable changes in the CG (p < 0.001). The FW in the GI decreased by 18%, whereas in the GC it increased by 12% (p < 0.001). Sixteen patients of the GI (32.7%) succeeded in reducing their FW by more than 20%, as against one individual (2.1%) of the GC (p < 0.0001). In the GI, 93.9% noted improvement in their physical, and 75.5% in their mental, well-being. 67.3% stated that they exercised more than three days a week.

An individually tailored and complete prescription of exercise facilitates and improves compliance, achieving greater decrease in fat weight.