Abstract

The purpose of the study was to find out the effect of aerobic exercise on the body mass index and anthropometric measurements of overweight students of KFUPM, Saudi Arabia. Pre- and post-tests were administered on a group of 25 overweight students in their first semester in the college for physical education at KFUPM, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia for the academic year 2009. The objectives of the study were to find out the effect of aerobic exercise on the overweight student's body mass index (BMI) and the effect of aerobic exercise on the waist and hip circumference of the subjects. The statistical tools used for the above study were mean, SD and ‘t’ test. As a result of the analysis it was found that the overweight students lost body weight, which ultimately helped them to reach the normal weight range of BMI (19.5–25) – an encouraging sign. The analysis with regard to the effect of aerobic exercise on anthropometric measurements also showed significant difference in the reduction of the circumference of the waist and hip girth in the both cases.