The Effects of Different Exercise Programmes on Female Body Composition

The purpose of this study was to verify the effects of 16 weeks of practicing different exercise programmes on body composition. This is an exploratory and descriptive study of 89 women aged 25 to 55 years (41.42 ± 9.23 years). The subjects were randomly divided into three experimental groups (EG): practitioners of strength training (SG), dance (DG), hydrogymnastics (HG), and a control group (CG) with sedentary women. Measurements of body mass and height, circumferences of the chest, waist, abdomen, hips, thighs, calves, and skinfolds of the triceps, suprailiac and thigh were registered in three different moments: prior to the commencement of the training program, again after 8 weeks of training, and finally after 16 weeks of training. Body density was estimated by using the trifold protocol by Jackson, Pollock and Ward. The ANOVA and deltas of change (Δ%) were used for data analysis. The level of significance was set at p