Pilates for Obese and Overweight Adults (Meta-Analysis)

What’s This Research About?

This is the first meta-analysis that evaluated research on the effects of Pilates on body weight and composition in overweight and obese adults. Pilates exercises focus on isometric contractions of the core muscles and emphasize practical or functional movement. But the impact of Pilates on weight loss and body composition is less studied.

Obesity can be a leading risk factor for various chronic diseases such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and other health issues. Being overweight or obese is a worldwide health concern that has become more prevalent. According to the World Health Organization, in 2016, 39% of adults were overweight and 13% were obese. Therefore, growing attention has been devoted to body weight problems and affordable therapies for managing body weight and preventing obesity.

Since a sedentary lifestyle is a risk factor for weight gain and obesity, consistent physical activity is one of the most effective and best prevention methods for overweight individuals. It’s well known in the research that exercise can improve the functions of several body systems, thereby improving body weight, body composition, cardiometabolic risk factors, and emotional health status.

Exercise is widely used to reduce body weight in clinical practice. But many common physical exercises tend to be high-impact, which might not be appropriate for overweight or obese individuals due to the risk of overloading the knee joints and damaging the musculoskeletal system. Thus, lower-impact exercises such as Pilates exercises might be a suitable alternative.