Journal of Exercise Science and Fitness · Oct 16, 2026

Functional fitness responses to multicomponent aquatic exercise and treadmill walking in women aged 80 years and older with obesity: A 24-week controlled comparative study

By Chun SW, Jang JH, Seong JH et al.

OBJECTIVE: To compare changes in dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry-derived body composition and functional fitness following 24 weeks of aquarobic or treadmill exercise in women aged 80 years and older with obesity, and to explore whether change in lean mass was associated with change in 30-s chair stand performance. METHODS: This 24-week nonrandomized controlled study included 135 community-dwelling women aged 80 years and older assigned to a control group, a multicomponent aquarobic exercise group, or a treadmill walking group, with 45 participants in each group. Both exercise groups completed supervised low-intensity exercise three times per week for 24 weeks. Body composition was assessed using DXA, and functional fitness was evaluated using handgrip strength, 30-s chair stand, 30-s arm curl, chair sit-and-reach, back scratch, 8-Foot Up-and-Go, and 2-min step tests. Intervention-associated changes were examined using linear mixed-effects models, with baseline-, age-, and BMI-adjusted ANCOVA-type sensitivity analyses. Exploratory association analyses examined whether change in lean mass statistically explained change in 30-s chair stand performance. RESULTS: Adiposity-related outcomes, including fat mass and percentage body fat, did not show consistent between-group differences versus the control group. The primary linear mixed-effects models did not demonstrate statistically significant group × time interactions for lean mass, fat-free mass, or bone mineral content. However, baseline-, age-, and BMI-adjusted ANCOVA sensitivity analyses showed higher adjusted 24-week lean mass and fat-free mass values in the aquarobic group than in the control group, whereas the corresponding treadmill exercise findings and bone mineral content were attenuated. Both exercise groups showed more favorable functional outcomes than the control group, although the response pattern differed across measures. The 30-s chair stand, 8-Foot Up-and-Go, and 2-min step tests showed clear within-group improvements in both exercise groups. Handgrip strength was preserved in the aquarobic group and showed an attenuated decline in the treadmill group relative to the marked decline in the control group. Flexibility-related outcomes primarily reflected attenuation of decline or relative preservation rather than uniform absolute improvement. CONCLUSIONS: Under the low-intensity, safety-oriented 24-week exercise prescription evaluated in this study, functional fitness outcomes demonstrated more consistent functional adaptation than adiposity-related body composition outcomes in women aged 80 years and older with obesity. These functional responses were not statistically explained by DXA-derived lean mass change alone.

doi.org/10.1016/j.jesf.2026.200530Open accessPubMed 42990918Interventions