Author(s): HANIM HAMZAH, S., MD AKIR, S., SELVANAYAGAM, V.S., JAAFAR, Z., MUSTAFA, N., Institution: UNIVERSITI MALAYA, Country: MALAYSIA, Abstract-ID: 1369

INTRODUCTION:
Intermittent Fasting (IF) is reported to produce significant weight loss for long-term intervention and promotes adherence. In addition, its combination with the right exercise plan may produce a greater impact on weight loss. Therefore, it is important to identify the suitable exercise window to address the desired outcome when designing IF and exercise intervention program for weight loss. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of exercise during fasting and eating state among obese and sedentary women performing IF on body weight status.
METHODS:
Thirty-four women aged between 30-55 years old with BMI ≥25 were recruited in this 6-week weight loss intervention program. In this randomised control trial design, the participants performed the modified alternate day fasting (MADF) and exercise (functional training). They were divided into exercise during MADF fast-state (FastE, n=17) and exercise during MADF eating-state (EatE, n=17) groups. The exercise were designed in a form of circuit training of 7-8 different stations or movements during the intervention. Body weight, body mass index (BMI), fat mass (FM) and fat free mass (FFM) were measured at pre- and post-intervention. A statistical level of p< 0.05 was accepted. All data are expressed as mean ± SD.
RESULTS:
Seventeen participants (FastE, n=8, age 41.9±6.0 yrs, BMI 31.3±5.6,) and (EatE, n=9, age 41.3±6.5 yrs, BMI 29.5±2.5) completed the intervention. The results of this study showed that body weight was significantly reduced by 1.89 ± 2.26 kg in the FastE group and by 1.21±0.96 in the EatE group after 6-week intervention. We found that BMI, FM and FFM were significantly reduced in the EatE group but not significant in the FastE group. However, the reduction of BMI and FM were higher in FastE (by 0.75 ± 0.94 and by 1.00 ± 1.79 kg, respectively) compared to EatE (by 0.40 ± 0.38 and by 0.71 ± 0.84 kg, respectively). However, greater FFM reduction in FastE (by 0.79 ± 1.64 kg) compared to EatE (by 0.50 ± 0.44 kg).
CONCLUSION:
The exercise during IF (fast-state) intervention program produced a comparable improvement in body weight, BMI and FM to exercise during IF (eating-state). However, this conclusion cannot be established based on the small number of participants who completed the intervention due to the high rate of dropout. Improving the adherence of this IF and exercise intervention program may provide more pronounced results.