Are three months multidisciplinary lifestyle intervention enough to get benefits on blood pressure in overweight/obese adults ?

The aim of the study is to determine the effects of a multidisciplinary lifestyle intervention (including a short period of physical exercise) on some health-related variables, particularly on blood pressure, in an overweight/obese adult group. The main outcome was blood pressure lowering. The study involved 378 subjects affected by obesity or type 2 diabetes. The intervention included exercise, nutrition and psychological aspects. Before and after the intervention, several anthropometrics, cardiovascular risk related measures (height, body weight, body mass index, waist circumference, body composition and WHTR index) and physical exercise measures (aerobic capacity, flexibility and dynamic muscle strength) were evaluated through fitness tests. We observed a significant reduction in: blood pressure values, body weight, BMI, waist circumference, WHTR, fat mass and an improvement of fat free mass and physical exercise measures. The C.U.R.I.A.Mo. multidisciplinary approach is effective for reducing blood pressure, after relatively few exercise sessions (three weeks), particularly in patients with hypertension. The intervention can ameliorate the health status and physical performance in the short term, in normotensive and hypertensive adult subjects with overweight/obesity.