Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of a nutrition and exercise education program on weight control of adult women. The subjects of this study were 28 adult women aged 20-59 years residing in the Daegu area. The nutrition-exercise educational period was 12 weeks. The collected data consisted of items on general characteristics, anthropometric data, blood biochemical values, physical strength data, dietary behavior and nutrition knowledge scores of the subjects. During the 12 weeks of weight control, body mass index (BMI), % of body fat, body fat mass and waist-hip ratio significantly decreased. The level of plasma triglyceride decreased, but not significantly. The level of total cholesterol did not change compared to baseline before the program. After the weight control program, back muscle strength, sit-ups, push-ups, and sit-and-reach tests of the subjects significantly improved. The nutrition knowledge scores of the subjects significantly increased. Therefore, these results suggest that the nutrition-exercise education program may contribute effectively to weight reduction with improvement of physical strength in adult women.

• Keywords: women; obesity; weight control; nutrition-exercise program