A review analysis of exercise training regimes among females with polycystic ovary syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: The current systematic review was planned to provide quality assessment of different exercise regimes and their outcomes on the symptoms of polycystic ovary syndrome, and to see if one exercise regime was better than the rest. METHODS: Search was conducted on PubMed and Google Scholar databases for studies published between 2001 and 2021 whose full text was available. The search yielded 28 studies that were reviewed. RESULTS: The current evidence suggests that exercise regimes, such as high-intensity interval training, progressive resistance training, aerobic exercises, and yoga may improve polycystic ovary syndrome conditions. This is accomplished through treating associated risk factors, like body morphology, insulin resistance, hyperandrogenism, lipid profile, reproductive hormones, menstrual cycle, and quality of life. CONCLUSIONS: Exercise regimes improves several symptoms of polycystic ovary syndrome. However, selecting a specific exercise regime over others as the standardised treatment protocol remained inconclusive.

Effects of high-intensity interval training and strength training on levels of testosterone and physical activity among women with polycystic ovary syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: Polycystic ovary syndrome is a diverse endocrine disorder characterized by hyperandrogenism and ovulatory dysfunction. Hyperandrogenism affects body morphology, resulting in excess weight (overweight or obesity). This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of high-intensity interval training on serum testosterone levels, body fat percentage, and level of physical activity among women with polycystic ovary syndrome. METHODS: Fifty participants were enrolled in the study and randomly allocated into two groups. Group A performed highintensity interval training on alternate days per week (total of 12 weeks) and group B performed strength training on alternate days per week (total of 12 weeks). Baseline and 12th-week assessments included serum testosterone levels, body fat percentage using the skinfold method, and level of physical activity assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. RESULTS: After 12 weeks of intervention, both groups showed significant improvements in all the outcomes. However, group A (high intensity interval training) showed statistically significant results compared to group B (strength training) in lowering serum testosterone levels (P=0.049) and body fat percentage (P=0.001) and increasing physical activity levels (P=0.006). CONCLUSION: After 12 weeks of exercise, both exercises benefited the participants; however, high-intensity interval training specifically was found to be a more effective exercise regimen than strength training in reducing serum testosterone levels and body fat percentage and enhancing levels of physical activity in women with polycystic ovary syndrome.

High-intensity circuit training for improving anthropometric parameters for women from low socioeconomic communities of Sikandarabad: A clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: An alarming trend of sustained physical inactivity has been observed among women in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas, mainly due to the lack of time and high cost of gym facilities. Although physical activity essentially contributes to disease prevention, evidence supporting time-efficient exercise on anthropometric measures is limited. This study aimed to identify the effectiveness of interval-based high-intensity circuit training (HICT) on anthropometric measures and the nature of the relationship between these measures. METHODS: A single-group, quasi-experimental study was conducted in the community park of Ziauddin Hospital at Sikandarabad. Sixty women who were overweight and had sedentary lifestyles were recruited for a six-week HICT-based program conducted at 85%-95% maximum heart rate (MHR) on every alternate day. Outcome measures were assessed at baseline and at 6-weeks including anthropometric parameters (body mass index [BMI], body fat percentage [BF%], and waist-to-hip ratio [WHR]). RESULTS: The six-week HICT-based program demonstrated a significant reduction in BMI (p<0.001), BF% (p<0.001), and WHR (p<0.001). Reductions in the BMI mean from 27.3±1.3 to 25.1±1.4 and BF% mean from 31.9±2.3 to 27.6±2.4 were observed following 18 sessions of HICT. The effect of age on BF% and WHR was linearly significant (p<0.001) with increasing age (BF%) and WHR. CONCLUSION: Interval-based HICT was an effective exercise regimen for improving BMI, BF%, and WHR. Furthermore, the exercise protocol was feasible and well tolerated, with no reported adverse events, and it could be easily implemented in real-world community settings. BF% and WHR were significantly influenced by increasing age; therefore, our findings support the importance of exercise implementation, especially with increasing age, for the maintenance of a disease-free healthy lifestyle.

Impact on Mental Health of Families during Covid-19: A Cross-Sectional Survey.

Background: The global pandemic of novel coronavirus outbreaks threatens the general public and health care workers' physical, social and mental well-being. Therefore, the current study is aimed to highlight the status of mental health of families suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: An online cross-sectional survey was conducted on 560 families through Google Form distributed via email, Whatsapp groups, Facebook, and LinkedIn from November 2020 to January 2021 during the pandemic period in Karachi through the snowball sampling technique. The status of COVID-19 patients was assessed through demographics information and contextual factors questions whereas impact on mental health was assessed through Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21). Results: A total number of 536 participated in the study. The prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress was found to be 38.99%, 26.67%, and 15.48% respectively included 31% of males and 69% where the highest number of respondents belonged to district Central (37.8%). Chi square estimation was found to be significant among both the gender and in between all the age group ranges from 20 to 60 years. Moreover, significant association among categorical division of demography and DASS-21 p<0.05 was observed. Conclusion: The results of our study indicated high rate of depression and anxiety in majority of families; in particular females. Consistent with these symptoms, significant association was found between gender and age from high to low socioeconomic status.

Effects of Mode and Duration of Exercises on Fat Mass of Obese Population.

A meta-analysis was performed to determine impact of resistance and aerobic exercise on body fat of obese population. Database of Google Scholar, BioMed Central, and Medline was reconnoitered for the purpose of research article of interest. Inclusion criteria encompass all those studies in which effects of aerobic and resistance exercise were determined on body fat mass of obese participants. Studies in which combination of aerobic and resistance exercise were used, or outcome measures were other than body fat mass or studies conducted before 2010 were excluded from this review. A total of 805 obese participants were included in 10 randomized controlled trials (RCT) including 401 in resistance training protocol and 404 in aerobic training protocol were part of this meta-analysis. Results revealed that resistance exercise had a mild pool affect in increasing weight of participants with an effect size (SMD) of 0.26 (95% of CI -0.09 to 0.63) calculated at random effect model, I2 83.80% (95% of CI 71.76 to 90.71) in comparison to aerobic exercises performed during the duration of two to eight weeks of training protocol. The meta-analysis concluded that resistance exercises had a mild pool effect in increasing the weight of the participants in comparison to aerobic exercises. Key Words: Aerobic exercises, Resistance exercises, Obesity, Fat mass, Body fat index and body fat composition.