Background: Although previous studies suggested that bariatric surgery is the most effective and sustainable treatment method for morbid obesity in long term, but without changing in lifestyle, maintaining optimal weight loss is almost impossible.
Methods: Sixty morbid obese patients (BMI ≥ 35) were evaluated before and after 12 weeks of bariatric surgery in order to compare the impact of two different exercise programs on body composition and functional capacity outcomes. Participants were divided into three groups: aerobic (A), aerobic-strength (AS), and control (C) group. Aerobic capacity was assessed with 12-min walk-run test (12MWRT). One-repetition maximum (1RM) test was performed to evaluation upper limb muscle strength. Lower extremity functional capacity was assessed by sit-to-stand test.
Results: Weight, percent body fat (PBF), and fat mass (FM) reduced greater in the trial groups in comparison to the C group (P < 0.05). In the AS group, the reduction of fat-free mass (FFM) was significantly lower than that in the other groups. Mean changes in 12MWRT increased significantly in the intervention groups. The mean change in the sit-to-stand scores was not statistically significant between the three groups. Comparing the intervention groups showed that mean changes in 1RM variables increased in AS group (P = 0.03).
Conclusions: The data suggests a positive effect of exercise on weight and PBF decrease after surgery, and it leads to significant improvement on aerobic capacity. Moreover, doing resisted exercise caused greater preserving of lean mass.
Keywords: Bariatric surgery; Body composition; Exercise; Functional capacity; Obesity.