Power Plate & Weight Loss

Effects of long - term whole body vibration training on Visceral Adipose Tissue

Excerpts written by: Dr. Luc Van Gaal – Department of Endocrinology, Diabetology and Metabolism (Antwerp University Hospital) 7/4/10

Aim of Study

To determine the effect of whole body vibration (WBV) combined with caloric restriction, on weight, body composition and metabolic risk factors in over-weight and obese adults.

Aerobic exercise has been described to have a potential in providing a modest weight loss, where as resistance training can provide some conservation of fat free mass during weight loss by dieting. However, it is less clear to what extent the addition of, less conventional forms of aerobic exercise or resistance training to a diet can improve the different components of the metabolic syndrome. The increasing interest in whole body vibration (WBV) in commercial fitness clubs has evolved into a move toward the use of WBV exercise as an alternative way of resistance training. WBV is implemented through the use of a vibrating platform on which exercises can be performed – aka – Power Plate.

Data collected at baseline, 3 months, 6 months and 12 months in 3 groups of people: Diet only group, diet plus fitness group, diet plus WBV/Power Plate group.

Diet group: All intervention groups received the same diet program.

Fitness training group: Consisted of aerobic interval training and consistent aerobic exercise combined with general muscle strengthening exercises for the large muscle groups of the body. 3 hourly sessions a week.

WBV group: Group training performed on Power Plate with a training protocol designed to gradually increase the frequency, amplitude & exercise count. 14.2 mins was the maximum length of time for session 3 a week.

Results

Body weight and composition: Body weight decreased significantly after 3, 6 or 12 months in all three cases compared to body weight at baseline. There was a significant decrease in body weight from 3 to 6 months in the fitness and vibration groups. Similar results were found for BMI. There was a significant decrease in % body fat after 3 months in the fitness group and the vibration group. There was a significant decrease in % body fat after 6 or 12 months in all groups showing that this is an effective method of weight management.

After 6 months, Visceral Adipose Tissue (body fat) was significantly decreased compared to baseline in diet and vibration groups. The decrease in the fitness group was borderline significant. After 12 months, VAT (Visceral Adipose Tissue) was significantly increased compared to 6 months in the diet and the fitness groups. Only the vibration group showed a significant decrease in VAT after 12 months compared to baseline.

Vibration was the only group in which Waist-to-Hip ratio significantly decreased after 3 months, 6 months and 12 months compared to baseline.

Waist circumference significantly decreased in all 3 intervention groups after 3, 6 and 12 months. Waist circumference decreased most in the vibration group.

Conclusion

Based upon our findings we conclude that both aerobic exercise and Power Plate training, in addition to a hypocaloric diet, can help to achieve a sustained mid-term and long-term weight loss of 5%-10%. When combined with a hypocaloric diet, Power Plate training seems to have the potential to reduce waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio and VAT to a greater extent than aerobic exercise. Thus making it a meaningful addition to future weight loss programs.

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