12-week of Tai Chi Training Reduces Visceral Fat in Centrally Obese Older Adults

Excess visceral fat is associated with metabolic abnormality and increased susceptibility to diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. It is known that visceral fat is reduced with strenuous physical exercise. However, older adults (age≥ 50) may prefer to manage their visceral fat with alternate exercise modalities. PURPOSE: To examined the effectiveness of Tai Chi, a popular mind-body exercise among older adults, in the reduction of visceral fat in centrally obese older adults. METHODS: This randomized controlled trial was conducted from March to August, 2018. In this three-arm, single-blinded randomized controlled trial, 102 Chinese adults aged ≥50 years with central obesity (male with waist circumference (WC) ≥ 90 cm / female ≥ 80 cm) were randomly assigned to Control (n= 33; received no intervention), Fitness (n= 35; received 12-week conventional exercise intervention) or Tai Chi groups (n= 34; received 12-week Tai Chi intervention). The primary outcome was the determination of visceral fat mass by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry at 12-week post-randomization, while the secondary endpoints were the risk factors of metabolic syndrome (i.e. WC, blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol and triglyceride). Data were analyzed by Generalized linear model with baseline as covariate. Pairwise comparison was done by closed test procedure. RESULTS: Visceral fat was reduced by 1.6% and 4.1% in the Tai Chi and Fitness groups respectively whereas the control group manifested a 3.8% increase. A main effect of intervention was observed in visceral fat (P<0.001). The pairwise comparison shown that both the Tai Chi (P=0.001) and Fitness (P=0.022) groups exhibited lower visceral fat content compared with their control counterpart. A main effect of intervention was observed in waist circumference (P<0.013) and triglyceride (P<0.046). Pairwise comparisons showed that the waist circumference (P=0.011) and triglyceride level (P=0.043) were reduced significantly in response to Tai Chi intervention. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that Tai Chi training reduces visceral fat, waist circumference and blood triglyceride. Supported by Health and Medical Research Fund 12131841