None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
The focus of this study was to investigate the effect of the combination of chronic high intensity interval exercise, a Mediterranean diet, and regular fish oil ingestion on improvements in body composition (body fat) and metabolic syndrome markers in overweight women.
Interventions
Fish oil supplementation: Consisting of three 1100 mg fish oil capsules per day, for 12 weeks. Each capsule contained 550 mg of eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid per 1100 mg capsule (YourHealth Group, Australia).
Exercise: Consisted of 20 minutes of high intensity interval exercise (8 s sprint, 12 s recovery) on an electronically braked cycle ergometer for each session three times a week for 12 weeks.
Diet: Participants were asked to eat a low glycemic Mediterranean style diet and
Fish oil supplementation: Consisting of three 1100 mg fish oil capsules per day, for 12 weeks. Each capsule contained 550 mg of eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid per 1100 mg capsule (YourHealth Group, Australia). Exercise: Consisted of 20 minutes of high intensity interval exercise (8 s sprint, 12 s recovery) on an electronically braked cycle ergometer for each session three times a week for 12 weeks. Diet: Participants were asked to eat a low glycemic Mediterranean style diet and complete a food diary before and after the 12-week intervention. No caloric amount was introduced rather a change in the quality of foods consumed was stressed to participants. The FEM women were given an overview of the healthy eating plan prior to commencing the program. Participants were also given recipes, advice, and nutritional information along with a Mediterranean pyramid. After the initial diet sessions, FEM women were given more dietary guidelines throughout the study (every 3 weeks) along with feedback from their previous one-day diet diary and ways to progress towards the recommended Mediterranean diet. Use of a Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS) provided adherence information on a scale of zero to nine; zero represented the least adherent to a Mediterranean diet and nine represented total adherence to a Mediterranean diet. MDS was based on the median values calculated from mean scores for all women in FEM. For the study as a whole, all 3 components (fish oil, exercise, and Mediterranean diet) were implemented simultaneously over the 12 week period in the randomized intervention group known as FEM.
Sponsors
Stephen H. Boutcher, Ph.D.
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Prevention
Masking
Open (masking not used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to 35 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Premenopausal, recreationally active but untrained (< 2.5 hours a week of physical activity) overweight or obese (all women except Asian women had a BMI > 25 and < 35 kg/meters squared, Asian women had a BMI >23 and <33 kg/meters squared) women were recruited from a university population.
Exclusion criteria
Women were overweight or obese but otherwise healthy. Women were excluded if they had any of the following: diabetes, impaired glucose tolerance (fasting plasma glucose levels above 6.0 mmol/L), hypertension (blood pressure >140/90 mmHg), cardiovascular disease, psychiatric problems, history of alcohol abuse (intake of >500 g/wk in the last year), current or recent (in the past 3 years), smoking, certain medication use, symptoms of chronic or current infection, a chronic inflammatory condition, any thyroid condition, liver disease or malignancy, being pregnant or planning on becoming pregnant during the study.
Outcome results
None listed