Effects of Aerobic Exercise Concurrent with Caffeine Supplementation on Weight and Body Fat Among Overweight Women

Obesity and overweight are among serious global epidemics that significantly threaten human health, especially among women.

This study aimed to assess the concurrent effects of 6-week caffeine supplementation with moderate-intensity aerobic exercise on weight and body fat among overweight women.

Thirty overweight females (age: 36.47 ± 6.48 years; BMI: 27.61 ± 1.54 kg/m2 ; mean ± SD) with a sedentary lifestyle were recruited to the study. The participants were randomly allocated to the experimental group, EC (exercise + caffeine) group, who took 100 milligrams of caffeine of the “API” brand supplement 30 minutes before exercise training (n = 15) or control group, EP (exercise + placebo) (n = 15). All participants performed moderate-intensity aerobic exercise with an intensity of 40 to 60% of heart rate reserve based on the individual’s exercise test for 30 minutes, three days a week for six weeks. Measurements, including the percentage of body fat, waist circumference, and skinfold (suprailiac, abdominal), were done two times, at baseline and after six weeks of exercising.

There were no significant differences between control and experimental groups related to weight (P = 0.22), percentage body fat (P = 0.88), and other measurements after six weeks.

6 weeks of caffeine supplementation combined with moderate-intensity aerobic exercise without dietary interventions couldn’t make a significant reduction in weight and central or total body fat among overweight women.