Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2022 Aug;23(8):e13446.
doi: 10.1111/obr.13446. Epub 2022 Apr 5.

Effect of aerobic exercise on waist circumference in adults with overweight or obesity: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Alex Armstrong  1   2 , Klaus Jungbluth Rodriguez  3 , Angelo Sabag  4 , Yorgi Mavros  1   2 , Helen M Parker  1 , Shelley E Keating  3 , Nathan A Johnson  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Effect of aerobic exercise on waist circumference in adults with overweight or obesity: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Alex Armstrong et al. Obes Rev. 2022 Aug.

Abstract

Excess visceral adiposity contributes to elevated cardiometabolic risk, and waist circumference is commonly used as a surrogate measure of visceral adipose tissue. Although regular aerobic exercise is known to improve abdominal obesity, its effect on waist circumference is unclear. A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed to determine (1) the effect of aerobic exercise on waist circumference in adults with overweight or obesity; (2) the association between any change in waist circumference and change in visceral adipose tissue and/or bodyweight with aerobic exercise interventions; and (3) if reductions in waist circumference with exercise are moderated by clinical characteristics or components of aerobic exercise prescription. Twenty-five randomized controlled trials (1686 participants) were included. Regular aerobic exercise significantly reduced waist circumference by 3.2 cm (95% confidence interval [CI] -3.86, -2.51, p ≤ 0.001) versus control. Change in waist circumference was associated with change in visceral adipose tissue (β = 4.02; 95% CI 1.37, 6.66, p = 0.004), and vigorous intensity produced superior reduction (-4.2 cm, 95% CI -4.99, -3.42, p < 0.0001) in waist circumference compared with moderate intensity (-2.50 cm, 95% CI -3.22, -1.79, p = 0.058). These findings suggest regular aerobic exercise results in modest reductions in waist circumference and associated visceral adipose tissue and that higher intensity exercise may offer superior benefit to moderate intensity.

Keywords: abdominal obesity; physical activity; visceral adiposity; weight loss.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Figure 1 Summary of GRADE recommendations [Correction added on 3 June 2022, after first online publication: Figure 1 has been moved earlier in the article and has a new caption.]
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Forest plot of the pooled effect of AEx versus CON on WC, including subgroup analysis of moderate intensity versus control and vigorous intensity versus control; D1: Randomization, D2: Deviation for intended interventions, D3: Missing outcome data, D4: Measurement of the outcome, D5: Selection of reported result [Correction added on 3 June 2022, after first online publication: A new image for Figure 2 has been inserted earlier in the article and the caption originally published with Figure 1 is being used with this new Figure 2 image.]
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Direct comparison of vigorous versus moderate aerobic exercise on WC [Correction added on 3 June 2022, after first online publication: The preceding figure was renumbered from Figure 2 to Figure 3 in this version.]
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Ng M, Fleming T, Robinson M, et al. Global, regional, and national prevalence of overweight and obesity in children and adults during 1980–2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013. The Lancet. 2014;384(9945):766‐781. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(14)60460-8 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Manson JE, Colditz GA, Stampfer MJ, et al. A prospective study of obesity and risk of coronary heart disease in women. N Engl J Med. 1990;322(13):882‐889. doi:10.1056/NEJM199003293221303 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Rimm EB, Stampfer MJ, Giovannucci E, et al. Body size and fat distribution as predictors of coronary heart disease among middle‐aged and older US men. Am J Epidemiol. 1995;141(12):1117‐1127. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a117385 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Singh GM, Danaei G, Farzadfar F, et al. The age‐specific quantitative effects of metabolic risk factors on cardiovascular diseases and diabetes: a pooled analysis. PloS One. 2013;8(7):e65174. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0065174 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Felson DT, Anderson JJ, Naimark A, Walker AM, Meenan RF. Obesity and knee osteoarthritis: the Framingham Study. Ann Intern Med. 1988;109(1):18‐24. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-109-1-18 - DOI - PubMed