Supervised Physiotherapy Vs. Conventional And Mhealth-Driven Home Exercise: A Tri-Modal Comparison Of Body Composition And Lipid Profile Changes In Borderline Obesity
Keywords:
Borderline obesity, mHealth, physiotherapy, lipid profile, body composition, exercise adherenceAbstract
Background: Borderline obesity represents a critical window where timely lifestyle-based interventions can reverse metabolic progression. Exercise prescription delivered via mHealth technologies is increasingly used, yet comparative evidence against supervised physiotherapy remains limited.
Objective: To compare the effects of supervised physiotherapy, conventional home exercise, and mHealth-driven home exercise on body composition and lipid profiles in borderline-obese adults.
Methods: A 12-week randomized controlled tri-modal trial enrolled 90 participants (BMI 25–29.9 kg/m²) allocated to: (1) supervised physiotherapy (SP), (2) conventional home exercise (CHE), or (3) mHealth-assisted home exercise (mHE). Body composition (BMI, body fat %, visceral fat), waist-hip ratio, and lipid markers (TC, TG, LDL-C, HDL-C) were measured at baseline and 12 weeks. Statistical analysis included ANOVA.
Results: SP demonstrated the greatest reduction in body fat%, visceral fat and LDL-C compared with CHE and mHE (p<0.05). mHE showed significantly better adherence and outcomes than CHE, particularly for HDL-C improvement. CHE achieved modest but significant changes.
Conclusion: Supervised physiotherapy was most effective, whereas mHealth-driven exercise outperformed conventional home exercise. mHealth tools may bridge the gap where supervised models are inaccessible
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