TITLE:
Group fitness is effective in reducing cardiovascular disease risk factors in healthy adults
AUTHORS:
Jinger S. Gottschall, Justin L. Jones, Jackie Mills, Bryce Hastings
KEYWORDS:
Physical Fitness; Physical Activity; Exercise Intervention
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Preventive Medicine,
Vol.3 No.1,
February
27,
2013
ABSTRACT: In the past 5 years, 1 of every 3 deaths in the United Stateswas attributed to cardiovascular disease (CVD). Regular physical activity has numerous benefits associated with the reduction of cardiovascular disease risk factors. Despite these details, 60% of Americans are not regularly physically active and 25% are not active at all. Previous studies have found significant changes in cardiovascular disease risk factors by combining cardiorespiratory and strength training into one exercise program. The current pilot study augments the approach by utilizing a group fitness program that mimics the Physical Activity Guidelines for Fitness. Therefore our purpose was to evaluate if a multimodal group fitness intervention could singularly produce the physiological and musculoskeletal health benefits of the established physical activity prescription. Twenty-five sedentary, but otherwise healthy, adults (15 women and 10 men) between the ages of 25 - 40 years completed the protocol of a 30-week group exercise program. It started with a 6-week familiarization period, continued with a 12-week block of 6 group fitness classes per week (3 cardiovascular, 2 strength, 1 flexibility), and concluded with a 12-week block of 7 classes per week (4 cardiovascular, 2 strength, 1 flexibility). We completed submaximal oxygen consumption treadmill tests, fasting blood draws and iDXA scans at 3 time points (baseline, midpoint, final) and compared the data using a paired t-test (p