Body Composition Changes after a Weight Loss Intervention: A 3-Year Follow-Up Study

Abstract

Studies comparing different types of exercise-based interventions have not shown a consistent effect of training on long-term weight maintenance. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of exercise modalities combined with diet intervention on body composition immediately after intervention and at 3 years' follow-up in overweight and obese adults. Two-hundred thirty-nine people (107 men) participated in a 6-month diet and exercise-based intervention, split into four randomly assigned groups: strength group (S), endurance group (E), combined strength and endurance group (SE), and control group (C). The body composition measurements took place on the first week before the start of training and after 22 weeks of training. In addition, a third measurement took place 3 years after the intervention period. A significant interaction effect (group × time) (p = 0.017) was observed for the fat mass percentage. It significantly decreased by 5.48 ± 0.65%, 5.30 ± 0.65%, 7.04 ± 0.72%, and 4.86 ± 0.65% at post-intervention for S, E, SE, and C, respectively. Three years after the intervention, the fat mass percentage returned to values similar to the baseline, except for the combined strength and endurance group, where it remained lower than the value at pre-intervention (p < 0.05). However, no significant interaction was discovered for the rest of the studied outcomes, neither at post-intervention nor 3 years later. The combined strength and endurance group was the only group that achieved lower levels of fat mass (%) at both post-intervention and 3 years after intervention, in comparison with the other groups.

Keywords: body weight; exercise; intervention study; nutrition; obesity.

Figure 1

Participants’ flow diagram.

Figure 2

Body composition changes between post-intervention and pre-intervention (6 months’ intervention) and 3 years after intervention and post-intervention (3 years’ follow-up), adjusted by sex, age, and the corresponding baseline value of the study outcome. Common superscripts indicate a significant difference between groups (all p ≤ 0.05). BW: body weight; BMI: body mass index; FM: fat mass; FFM: fat-free mass.

Figure 3

Frequency of participants who maintained (black column), decreased (white column), or increased (gray column) their body weight status according to their body mass index (left panel) and fat mass (right panel) by group. Pre–post: changes between pre-intervention and post-intervention (6 months); post–3 years: changes between post-intervention and 3 years (3 years’ follow-up); pre–3 years: changes between pre-intervention and 3 years after intervention (3 years and 6 months).