Kung Fu training improves physical fitness measures in overweight/obese adolescents: the martial fitness study

Aim. to examine the efficacy of a six-month kung fu (kf) program on physical fitness in overweight/obese adolescents. methods. subjects were randomly assigned to the kf or sham exercise (tai chi,tc) control group. physical measurements in cardiovascular fitness and muscle fitness occurred at baseline and after 6 months of training thrice weekly. results. twenty subjects were recruited. one subject was lost to follow-up,although overall compliance to the training sessions was 46.7±27.8 %. at follow-up,the cohort improved in absolute upper (p=.002) and lower (p=.04) body strength,and upper body muscle endurance (p=.02),without group differences. kf training resulted in significantly greater improvements in submaximal cardiovascular fitness (p=.03),lower body muscle endurance (p=.28; significant 95% ci: 0.37-2.49),and upper body muscle velocity (p=.03) relative to tc training. conclusions. this short-term kf program improved submaximal cardiovascular fitness,lower body muscle endurance,and muscle velocity,in overweight/obese adolescents with very low baseline fitness. copyright © 2010 traceyw. tsang et al.