Effects of Tai Chi and Walking Exercises on Weight Loss, Metabolic Syndrome Parameters, and Bone Mineral Density: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial
Table 1
Baseline characteristics of participants and comparisons among groups.
Tai Chi group
Walking group
Control group
valuea
Geographic areas ()
3
3
3
Participants ()
129
121
124
Age group, (%)
0.068
36–40
18 (14.0)
14 (11.6)
30 (24.2)
41–50
89 (69.0)
82 (67.8)
71 (57.3)
51–60
22 (17.1)
25 (20.7)
23 (18.5)
Gender, (%)
0.863
Female
77 (59.4)
75 (62.0)
78 (62.9)
Male
52 (40.3)
46 (38.0)
46 (37.1)
Dietary intake
Energy, kCal/day, mean (SD)
2094.9 (838.8)
2159.4 (1135.1)
2216.2 (898.6)
0.608
Protein, g/day, mean (SD)
93.7 (20.4)
100.4 (28.1)
88.1 (38.7)
0.494
Fat, g/day, mean (SD)
88.5 (25.5)
84.6 (29.1)
85.9 (25.1)
0.909
Obesity, BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2, (%)
0.446
Yes
41 (31.8)
32 (26.4)
31 (25.0)
No
88 (68.2)
89 (73.6)
93 (75.0)
Central adiposity, waist circumference ≥ 80 cm, (%)
0.004
Yes
44 (34.1)
42 (34.7)
22 (17.7)
No
85 (65.9)
79 (65.3)
102 (82.3)
Hypertension, (%)
0.180
Yes
13 (10.1)
20 (16.5)
12 (9.7)
No
116 (89.9)
101 (83.5)
112 (90.3)
Metabolic syndrome, (%)b
0.662
Yes
16 (12.4)
13 (10.7)
11 (8.9)
No
113 (87.6)
108 (89.3)
113 (91.1)
Presence of any 1 of 5 risk factors of metabolic syndrome, (%)
0.064
Yes
83 (64.3)
72 (59.5)
62 (50.0)
No
46 (35.7)
49 (40.5)
62 (50.0)
Presence of any 2 of 5 risk factors of metabolic syndrome, (%)
0.142
Yes
44 (34.1)
30 (24.8)
30 (24.2)
No
85 (65.9)
91 (75.2)
94 (75.8)
values generated from one-way ANOVA or Pearson chi-square test where appropriate. bThe presence of any 3 of 5 risk factors constitutes a diagnosis of metabolic syndrome: (1) central adiposity; (2) triglycerides ≥ 1.7 mmol/L; (3) high-density lipoprotein cholesterol < 1.0 mmol/L in males; <1.3 mmol/L in females; (4) systolic BP ≥ 130 and/or diastolic BP ≥ 85 mm Hg; (5) blood fasting glucose ≥ 100 mg/dL.
