Home exercise equipment increased weight-loss succes...( n the study becauseparticipants had de...),Health

"The message is not that all you have to do is buy this equipment and you'll lose weight," said Jakicic. "But it is useful when helping to build an activity into a lifestyle."

Although laboratory-based studies have suggested that providing access to exercise equipment may improve exercise participation, this is the first known randomized trial to have examined the effectiveness of the equipment when placed in the home.

Study participants were broken into three groups. All were required to attend group treatment meetings, asked to reduce the same amount of daily caloric and fat intake, and instructed to spend the same total amount of time exercising each day.

Of the three groups, only one was given home exercise equipment. Different groups were instructed to complete the exercise within different schedules: at least three 10-minute exercise sessions a day; at least three 10-minute exercise sessions a day with the option of home exercise equipment; or one exercise session a day at least 30 minutes long.

Among all of the groups, the biggest weight loss occurred at six months, after which people began to regain weight. The group with treadmills regained the least amount.

Also, women with treadmills doing shorter, multiple sessions of daily exercise lost more weight by the end of the study than women doing the longer single daily sessions: 16.3 pounds compared to 12.8 pounds.

"The treadmills helped participants accumulate the short sessions of activity that they were asked to perform," Jakicic said.

The findings support the idea that there are a num
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Contact: Kristen Cole
Kristen_Cole@brown.edu
401-863-2476
Brown University
25-Oct-1999