A 12-week mat Pilates intervention improves endothelial function in both non-obese and obese middle-aged women, but body-composition changes differ by obesity status.
In an uncontrolled secondary analysis of 32 premenopausal middle-aged women, a 12-week mat Pilates program significantly improved flow-mediated dilation in both non-obese (+15.6%) and obese (+29.7%) groups. Significant group-by-time interactions were found for body weight, fat mass, and percent body fat, indicating obesity-dependent body-composition responses, but not for other cardiometabolic outcomes.
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A 12-week mat Pilates intervention improves endothelial function in both non-obese and obese middle-aged women, but body-composition changes differ by obesity status. The current body of evidence comprises 1 study. EvidenceHub rates the overall confidence at 34/100 (low).
The Claim
A 12-week mat Pilates intervention improves endothelial function in both non-obese and obese middle-aged women, but body-composition changes differ by obesity status.
This conclusion is most relevant to: 32 premenopausal middle-aged women (mean age 47.5 ± 7.6 years), stratified by BMI into non-obese (<25 kg/m2, n=14) and obese (≥25 kg/m2, n=18) using WHO Asia-Pacific criteria..
What the Research Shows
The conclusion draws on 1 linked study. Highlights from the cited literature:
- ▸BMI-Stratified Physiological Responses to a 12-Week Mat Pilates Intervention on Body Composition, Cardiometabolic Risk Factors, and Autonomic Function in Middle-Aged Women: An Exploratory Secondary Analysis. (Metabolites, 2026) —
How It Works
The proposed biological pathway:
- ▸Mat Pilates exercises improve endothelial function via increased shear stress and nitric oxide bioavailability.
- ▸Exercise-induced improvements in body composition may reduce adiposity-related inflammation and metabolic risk.
- ▸Obesity status may modulate the magnitude of body-composition adaptations to exercise.
- ▸Result: Endothelial function improved in both groups, but body-composition changes differed by obesity status.
Who Might Benefit
Evidence fit by population:
- ▸32 premenopausal middle-aged women (mean age 47.5 ± 7.6 years), stratified by BMI into non-obese (<25 kg/m2, n=14) and obese (≥25 kg/m2, n=18) using WHO Asia-Pacific criteria.
Recommended Dose
N/A
Limitations & Caveats
Important context when interpreting this evidence:
- ▸Uncontrolled single-arm design without a non-exercising control group, preventing causal attribution.
- ▸No objective monitoring of diet, non-exercise activity, sleep, or menstrual-cycle phase, which may confound results.
- ▸Exploratory secondary analysis with small sample size; between-group contrasts were not reproduced when adiposity was modeled continuously, suggesting hypothesis-generating findings.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did mat Pilates improve endothelial function in both obese and non-obese women?▼
Yes, flow-mediated dilation increased significantly in both groups, with a larger relative increase in obese women (+29.7%) compared to non-obese (+15.6%).
Were there differences in body composition changes between obese and non-obese women?▼
Yes, significant group-by-time interactions were observed for body weight, fat mass, and percent body fat, indicating that obesity status influenced these outcomes.
Can these results be attributed to mat Pilates?▼
No, because the study lacked a non-exercising control group, so the observed changes cannot be causally attributed to the intervention.
What are the implications for clinical practice?▼
Mat Pilates may be beneficial for improving endothelial function in middle-aged women regardless of BMI, but BMI-dependent effects on body composition require confirmation in randomized controlled trials.
References
- 1.Jung WS, Kim WJ, Lee E, An H, Park HY. “BMI-Stratified Physiological Responses to a 12-Week Mat Pilates Intervention on Body Composition, Cardiometabolic Risk Factors, and Autonomic Function in Middle-Aged Women: An Exploratory Secondary Analysis..” Metabolites, 2026. PMID: 42646256 DOI: 10.3390/metabo16080517