The Curves exercise and diet program now has the results of two replicated studies performed by the Exercise & Sport Nutrition Lab (ESNL) at Baylor University to validate its effectiveness.

 

Eleven research abstracts from two clinical studies were presented April 5, 2005 by Richard B. Kreider, Ph.D., FACSM, Professor and Chair of the Department of Health, Human Performance and Recreation at Baylor University and Director of the ESNL, to nutrition experts attending the Experimental Biology 2005 Annual Meeting in San Diego.

 

The Curves Fitness and Weight Management Plan is based on: 1.) a total-body workout that includes not only cardio and stretching but also strength training, which is the key to protecting and increasing fat-burning lean muscle mass; and 2.) increased resting metabolism (REE, also known as metabolic rate). The plan is designed so that once the goal weight is achieved, eating normally and healthfully will increase metabolism. Study participants raised their REE in some cases by an average 265 calories a day, meaning they can consume 265 more calories daily without regaining weight. Only a couple of days each month are dedicated to dieting. As the eating cycle is continued, metabolism is raised, and women will enjoy permanent weight loss without permanent dieting.  

 

The Phase II, 14-week study followed 120 sedentary overweight women assigned to different combinations of workout and diets to determine Curves’ effect on body composition, health markers, and psychosocial factors such as appearance evaluation and body area satisfaction.

 

The test group following the Curves plan lost an average of two inches from their hips and three inches from their waists, while showing a 21 percent improvement in strength and a seven percent increase in aerobic capacity. Their blood cholesterol and resting blood pressure also improved, reducing their odds against cardiovascular disease, the number one killer of women in the United States.

 

 “The most significant differences between Phases I and II of the Curves study is that we found that a woman can essentially lose the same amount of weight with less dramatic changes in diet,” said Dr. Krieder. “We also learned that following the Curves exercise program and only dieting intermittently seems to be very effective to maintaining long term weight loss. We are seeing maintenance or increase in REE despite weight loss.  Usually, REE goes down with weight loss which is why it is easier to regain weight.”

 

“I’ve been advising women for years that the overly simplistic conventional wisdom of ‘eat less, move more—be smaller has contributed to the failure of long-term weight management,” said Gary Heavin, architect of the Curves plan and founder and chief executive officer of Curves International. “We have a proven method that protects muscle, burns body fat, and raises metabolism. You can then eat healthfully and normally rather than live on a maintenance diet.”

 

The research was sponsored by an unrestricted research grant from Curves International. Details of the studies and abstracts can be found here: Curves research.

 

“No other fitness franchise has funded a research project of this magnitude,” said Dr. Kreider. “Curves has stepped up to the plate, and the data has proved them wise in doing so.”