VACUUM THERAPY VERSUS ABDOMINAL EXERCISES ON ABDOMINAL OBESITY

Background: Obesity is a medical condition that may adversely affect wellbeing and leading to increased incidence of many health problems. Abdominal obesity tends to be associated with weight gain and obesity and it is significantly connected with different disorders like coronary heart disease and type II diabetes mellitus.This study was conducted to investigate the efficacy of vacuum therapy as compared to abdominal exercises on abdominal obesity in overweight and obese women. Methods: Thirtyoverweight and obese women participated in this study with body mass index > 25 kg/m2andwaist circumference ≥ 85 cm. Their ages ranged from 28 - 40 years old.The subjects were excluded if they have diabetes, abdominal infection diseases or any physical limitation restricting exercise ability. They were randomly allocated into two equal groups; group I and group II. Group I received vacuum therapy sessions (by the use of LPG device) in addition to aerobic exercise training. Group II received abdominal exercises in addition to the same aerobic exercisesgiven to group I. This study was extended for successive 8 weeks (3 sessions/ week). All subjects were assessed for thickness ofnthe abdominal skin fold, waist circumference and body mass index. Results: The results of this study showeda significant difference between group I and group II post-interventionas regarding to the mean values of waist circumference and abdominal skin fold thickness (p<0.05). Conclusion: It can be concluded that aerobic exercises combined with vacuum therapy (for three sessions/week for successive 8 weeks) have a positive effect on women with abdominal obesity in terms of reducing waist circumference and abdominal skin fold thickness.