Effects of a comprehensive intervention program, including hot bathing, on overweight adults: A randomized controlled trial

Aim: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of a comprehensive overweight intervention program, which utilizes hot bathing, on overweight, community-dwelling middle-aged and older adults in a randomized controlled trial. Methods: The program was carried out in a hot bath facility and included 66 community-dwelling middle-aged and older Japanese adults (mean age 61.6years, SD 7.5, 77.3% were women). The participants were randomly assigned to an exercise, diet and hot bathing intervention group (groupA), exercise and diet intervention group (groupB), a hot-bathing intervention group (groupC) and a control group (groupD). The participants in groupsA and B participated in a comprehensive intervention program (including exercise and diet classes) twice a week for 3months, and groupsA and C had hot bathing. Results: After 3months, the participants in groupA showed a reduction in weight, abdominal circumference, body mass index and body fat percentage compared with the other intervention groups. And the lower extremity function (i.e. walking speed) had greater improvement in the participants in groupsA and B compared with groupsC and D. In groupC, in which only hot bathing was the intervention, there were no significant improvements in measurement items. Conclusions: Our study provides preliminary evidence that a comprehensive intervention program, including hot bathing, is useful for community residents with a tendency toward overweight. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2013; 13: 638-645.