Body Fat, Visceral Fat Area And Skeletal Mass With Meeting National Guidelines For Muscular Strengthening

According to national guidelines (United States) for muscular strengthening, adults should perform muscle-strengthening activities of moderate or greater intensity that involve all major muscle groups on 2 or more days of the week for health benefits, but it is not well known the impact on body fat percentage, visceral fat area and skeletal muscle mass. PURPOSE: This study compared adults that met national muscular conditioning guidelines to those that did not meet guidelines in body fat percentage (BF%), visceral fat area and skeletal muscle mass. METHODS: A total of 79 participants from the military healthcare system (n = 36 males, 41.6 ± 14.5 yrs, n = 43 females 43.6 ± 15.2 yrs) were measured. A 7-day physical activity recall (PAR)was used to measure muscular conditioning activities. BF%, visceral fat area and skeletal muscle mass was estimated via multi-segmental bioelectrical impedance body fat analyzer to identify the difference between groups using an independent t-test (p < .05). RESULTS: Males who met muscular conditioning guidelines (n = 22, 61%) displayed significant lower mean BF% (17.8% ± 6.7%) and visceral fat area (65.6cm2 ± 35.8cm2) compared to males who did not met guidelines (n = 14) with BF% (24.1% ± 5.8%) and visceral fat area (89.1 cm2 ± 35.6 cm2) (p < .05). Females who met muscular conditioning guidelines (n = 21, 48.8%) displayed significant lower mean BF% (30.2% ± 7.9%) compared to females who did not met guidelines (n = 22) with BF% (35.7% ± 7.1%). There was no significant difference in skeletal mass in both groups for both sexes. CONCLUSION: Both males and females that met national muscular strengthening guidelines had significant lower body fat percentages compared to those that did not meet muscular conditioning guidelines. Males who meet guidelines also had significantly lower visceral fat area than those that did not meet guidelines. The views expressed in this abstract are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy of the Department of Army, Navy, Defense, or any other agency of the U.S. Government, nor should any official endorsement be inferred by the Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government.