Effects of ballet versus weight-bearing exercise on body composition, physical fitness, and isokinetic muscle function in obese women

This study compared the effects of ballet exercise and a weight-bearing exercise program on body composition, basic physical fitness, and isokinetic knee muscle function in obese women. Twenty-three participants were randomly assigned to the control group (CG, n=7), ballet exercise group (BEG, n=10), and weight-bearing exercise group (WBEG, n=6). Both exercise groups performed 60-min sessions, 3 times a week, with progressively increased intensity. Body weight and percent body fat decreased significantly only in the BEG (P<0.05 and P<0.01), while no significant changes were observed in skeletal muscle mass across all groups. In the basic physical fitness, the BEG and WBEG showed significant improvements in back strength, flexibility, and left-side dynamic balance, whereas sit-up performance and right-side balance improved significantly only in the BEG. For isokinetic knee muscle function, the results were differentiated between muscle strength (60°/sec) and muscular endurance (240°/sec). At 60°/sec, both exercise groups showed significant improvements primarily in left knee extensor strength, including peak torque and relative peak torque. At 240°/sec, both groups demonstrated significant increases in extensor total work for both limbs, indicating enhanced muscular endurance. Additionally, the BEG showed improvements in right knee flexor total work and average power. These findings suggest that ballet exercise is associated with improvements in body composition, basic physical fitness, and lower-limb muscle function in obese women. In particular, ballet exercise may provide comparable benefits to weight-bearing exercise in enhancing isokinetic muscle function, while offering additional advantages in core endurance and unilateral balance.