Effect of circuit training on body composition, physical fitness, and metabolic syndrome risk factors in obese female college students

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a 12-week circuit training program on health-related physical fitness and metabolic syndrome risk factors in obese female college students. Twenty subjects with over 30% of accumulated body fat voluntarily participated and were randomly allocated to the control group (n=10) or circuit training group (n=10). The circuit training program consisted of 10 types of resistance and aerobic exercise and was performed 3 times per week for 12 weeks. Health-related physical fitness and metabolic syndrome risk factors were analyzed to elucidate the effect of the circuit training. Significant differences between groups were determined with two-way repeated analysis of variance and paired t-test. As a result of this study, body weight, % body fat, and body mass index in the circuit training group was significantly decreased compared to the control group. All health-related physical fitness indicators such as back strength, sit-up, sit-and-reach, and 1,600 m running time showed relative effects between groups or over time. Among the metabolic syndrome risk factors, waist measurement, triglyceride, and total cholesterol were significantly decreased but blood glucose, high-density lipo-protein cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol did not show any significant difference. Therefore, the present data suggested that circuit training for 12 weeks may be effective in improving physical fitness and preventing metabolic diseases.