Abstract
To assess the effects of strength training and body weight loss on body composition, energy expenditure and blood constituents, nine female students were assigned a supervised program of exercise combined with energy restriction for 12 weeks and compared with four other subjects who remained sedentary. The average energy intake of the subjects was 1, 650 kcal/day in the exercise group and 1, 870 kcal/day in the sedentary group. Decreases in body weight and body fat content were observed in botb grougs. In the exercise groug, lean body mass increased, and decreases in body weight, bady fat content and body size were larger than in the sedentary graup. The resting metabolic rate declined to a similar extent in both groups towards the summer. The level of plasma HDL-cholesterol was increased significantly in the exercise group.
