The Effect of Four Weeks of Aerobic Exercise and Caffeine Supplement Consumption on Body Composition and Psychomotor Performance of Obese Students Recovered From COVID-19

The restrictions caused by the coronavirus resulted in physiological and psychological problems for all ages in the world. This study aimed to investigate the effect of four weeks of aerobic exercise and caffeine supplementation on body composition and psychomotor performance of obese students who have recovered from COVID-19.

The current research was a quasi-experimental design with a two-step pre-test-post-test measurement. 40 obese students recovered from COVID-19 from Imam Khomeini International University of Qazvin Province eligible to participate in the research with a mean age of 22.57±1.45 years, weight of 90.74±7.53 kg, height of 171.05±4.93 cm, and body mass index of 30.51±2.36 were randomly assigned into four groups of 10 people including 1. Exercise-Supplement, 2. Exercise-Placebo, 3. Exercise, and 4. Control. The interventions included four weeks of aerobic exercise and caffeine or placebo supplementation. To analyze the data, a dependent t-test was used to check the intra-group difference, and an ANOVA statistical test was used to check the inter-group difference.

The results of the dependent t-test showed that there was a significant difference in all variables (body composition, and psychomotor performance) in the pre-test and post-test in the Exercise-Supplement, Exercise-Placebo, and Exercise groups (p<0.05), but in the pre-test and post-test, there was no significant difference in the control group for all variables (P>0.05). Also, intergroup analysis with the ANOVA test showed that there is no significant difference between groups in weight (p=0.144), fat percentage (p=0.053), and body mass index (p=0.993). However, there was a significant difference in psychomotor performance (duration of correct choice, number of correct choices, number of correct withdrawals, static balance, and dynamic balance) (p<0.05).

According to the obtained results, both aerobic exercise and aerobic exercise with caffeine supplementation can help reduce weight, body fat percentage, and body mass index, and improve psychomotor performance in obese people who have recovered from COVID-19.