Effect of diet with or without exercise on abdominal fat in postmenopausal women – a randomised trial

BMC Public Health

Table 3 Baseline and 16-week differences in body fat between study groups and treatment effects

Type of abdominal adipose tissue	Baseline mean	16 weeks mean	% Within group 16 weeks change	Within group 16 weeks change (95% CI)	P-value^a	Between group 16 weeks change intervention vs control (95% CI)	P-value^b	Between group 16 weeks change Exercise vs Diet (95% CI)	P-value^c
Total (TAAT, cm²)
Control	461	466	1.1%	4.9 (−4.1 to 13.9)	0.282
Diet	454	398	−12.3%	−55.8 (−63.8 to − 47.8)	< 0.001	−60.8 (− 74.3 to − 47.3)	< 0.001
Exercise+diet	449	379	−15.7%	−70.4 (−78.5 to −62.2)	< 0.001	−75.4 (−88.8 to −61.9)	< 0.001	− 14.6 (−25.5 to −3.7)	0.009
Subcutaneous (SAAT,cm²)
Control	311	315	1.2%	3.6 (−3.5 to 10.7)	0.308
Diet	312	273	−12.5%	− 38.9 (−44.7 to − 33.0)	< 0.001	−42.4 (−52.6 to − 32.3)	< 0.001
Exercise+diet	306	257	−16.0%	−49.1 (−55.4 to − 42.8)	< 0.001	−53.0 (−63.1 to − 42.9)	< 0.001	−10.6 (− 18.7 to − 2.4)	0.011
Intra-abdominal (IAAT,cm²)
Control	150	152	1.6%	2.4 (−3.4 o 8.2)	0.406
Diet	142	125	−12.0%	−17.0 (−20.9 to −13.0)	< 0.001	−20.1 (− 26.6 to −13.75)	< 0.001
Exercise+diet	143	122	−14.6%	−20.9 (− 24.4 to −17.4)	< 0.001	−24.0 (−30.4 to − 17.6)	< 0.001	− 3.8 (−9.0 to 1.3)	0.145

TAAT Total abdominal adipose tissue, SAAT Subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue, IAAT Intra-abdominal adipose tissue a. A P-value of < 0.05 was considered significant for the within group change
b. A P-value of < 0.025 was considered significant for the comparison of both intervention groups versus control. c. A P-value of < 0.05 was considered significant for the comparison exercise versus diet

ISSN: 1471-2458