Objective of this study was to investigate effects of twice-a-week physical exercises on body fat and aerobic ability of 65 healthy female college students who participated in a 10-week weight loss program. The results showed that skin fold thickness of both scapula and upper arm were significantly reduced after exercise relative to the basal levels, together with significant decrease in body fat rate after exercises compared with the base line values. Heart rates 1, 2 and 3 min. after completion of the step test also revealed significantly lower rates after the periodic exercises compared with those without exercises. Before commencement of the exercise, significant correlation was evidenced between body fat rates and heart rates 1, 2 and 3 min. after the step test ; after the exercise, however, no correlation was observed between body fat rates and heart rates 1, 2 and 3 min. after the step test.
These results demonstrated that periodic twice-a-week physical exercises contributed to both decrease in body fat and elevation of aerobic ability, indicating that periodic physical exercises would play an important role in alleviation of obesity.
