Baseline characteristics of the study population
| Whole group(n = 299) | Intervention group (n = 131) | Reference group (n = 168) | p Value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Values are mean (SD). The p value refers to the t test (for continuous data) or x2 test (for categorical data) to test for differences between the two study groups. | ||||
| Sex (% women) | 34.1 | 27.5 | 39.3 | 0.03 |
| Age (years) | 44.1 (8.7) | 44.6 (7.9) | 43.6 (9.3) | 0.33 |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 25.8 (3.8) | 25.9 (3.7) | 25.7 (3.8) | 0.66 |
| Body fat (%) | 28.9 (6.5) | 28.7 (6.6) | 29.1 (6.5) | 0.58 |
| Waist circumference (cm) | 87.2 (12.3) | 88.2 (11.1) | 86.4 (13.2) | 0.22 |
| Hip circumference (cm) | 99.7 (6.9) | 99.3 (7.1) | 100.3 (6.6) | 0.23 |
| Diastolic blood pressure (mm Hg) | 87.1 (8.8) | 86.9 (8.5) | 87.2 (9.0) | 0.77 |
| Systolic blood pressure (mm Hg) | 139.8 (15.2) | 139.7 (14.8) | 140.0 (15.6) | 0.86 |
| Total cholesterol (mmol/l) | 5.5 (1.0) | 5.5 (1.0) | 5.4 (1.0) | 0.24 |
| Estimated Vo2max (litres/min) | 3.1 (0.8) | 3.1 (0.8) | 3.0 (0.8) | 0.17 |
| Resting heart rate (beats/min) | 71.3 (12.4) | 71.8 (11.4) | 70.7 (13.7) | 0.47 |