Background: This study was performed to investigate the effect of nutrition and exercise or exercise program alone on macronutrients, sodium intake, and physical strength in overweight Korean middle aged women.
Methods: The subjects were middle aged obese women (N=32) with body mass index (BMI) greater than 25 kg/m². Thirty two participants were randomly divided into two groups. They were assigned to either the nutritional management and exercise (NME) program or the exercise management (EM) program. Both programs were conducted for 3 months. The dietary intake of macro-nutrients (carbohydrates, protein, lipid), sodium intake, dietary cholesterol, blood pressure, VO₂, physical strength, and etc. were measured.
Results: NME group showed decreased dietary cholesterol and significantly higher vitamin C intake than that of EM group. The dietary intake of macronutrients and sodium in NME group was lower than that of EM group, but was not statistically significant. In both NME and EM group, VO₂ and physical strength were increased whereas blood pressure and pulse decreased, however no statistical significance was evident.
Conclusion: These results show that continuous NME program, rather than the EM program alone, will help prevent obesity and manage hypertension in middle aged obese women.

Keywords: Nutrition education program, Exercise program, Sodium intake, Macronutrients intake, Physical strength, Middle aged obese women

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