Pilates Effect on Women with and Without Obesity

February 24, 2025 updated by: Sema Arslan Kabasakal, University of Yalova

Investigating the Effects of Pilates on Body Composition, Posture, and Psychosocial Parameters in Women with and Without Obesity: a Randomized Controlled Study

Obesity, a health problem, is caused by insufficient physical activity and unhealthy nutrition. For individuals with obesity, non-weight-bearing and enjoyable exercises, such as Pilates, should be implemented as physical activity due to potential pain. This study aims to examine the effects of an 8-week Pilates exercise program on body composition, posture, and psychosocial parameters in individuals with and without obesity. Methods: The study included 58 female participants: 30 individuals with obesity (nPilates = 15; nControl = 15) and 28 individuals without obesity (nPilates = 14; nControl = 14). Participants performed Pilates exercises twice a week for 8 weeks. Body Mass Index (BMI), body fat percentage (BFP), and posture scores were calculated, and from a psychosocial perspective Emotional Eating Scale (EE), Social Physique Anxiety Inventory (SPA), and Self-Esteem Scales (SE) were administered before and after the eight weeks.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

There are no studies in the literature examining the effects of Pilates exercises on emotional eating and posture. Additionally, there are no studies examining the effects of Pilates on posture in individuals with obesity. Most studies in the literature have focused on sedentary women; however, no study has specifically examined the effects of Pilates-based exercises on individuals with and without obesity. This study aims to investigate the effects of an 8-week Pilates intervention on postural alignment, BMI, fat percentage, and psychosocial parameters (emotional eating, social physical anxiety, and self-esteem) in individuals with and without obesity. Thus, this study will provide valuable insights into the role of Pilates in weight management, posture correction, and psychosocial well-being among individuals with and without obesity. The study included 58 female participants: 30 individuals with obesity (nPilates = 15; nControl = 15) and 28 individuals without obesity (nPilates = 14; nControl = 14). Participants performed Pilates exercises twice a week for 8 weeks. Body Mass Index (BMI), body fat percentage (BFP), and posture scores were calculated, and from a psychosocial perspective Emotional Eating Scale (EE), Social Physique Anxiety Inventory (SPA), and Self-Esteem Scales (SE) were administered before and after the eight weeks.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

58

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Turkey
      • Yalova, Turkey, 77200
        • Yalova University

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Being a sedentary individual and not not doing regular physical activity
  • Being 20 years old or older
  • Having a BMI of 30 kg/m² or above for inclusion in the group of women with obesity.
  • Having a BMI below 30 kg/m² for inclusion in the group of women without obesity.
  • Not having any health problems that would prevent participation in exercise.
  • Not having undergone surgery affecting the musculoskeletal system within the last year.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Voluntary withdrawal from the study.
  • Failure to comply with the required procedures of the study.
  • Arbitrary disruption of the exercise schedule more than twice.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Pilates Group with Obesity
The obese intervention group received Pilates exercises for 8 weeks.
Other: Pilates Exercise
Pilates exercises were applied for 8 weeks
Experimental: Pilates Group without Obesity
The non-obese intervention group received Pilates exercises for 8 weeks.
Other: Pilates Exercise
Pilates exercises were applied for 8 weeks
No Intervention: Control Group with Obesity
The obese control group received no intervention for 8 weeks.
No Intervention: Control Group without Obesity
The non-obese control group received no intervention for 8 weeks.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Body Mass Index (BMI)
Time Frame: Baseline and at the end of 8 weeks
Difference in BMI before and after the 8-week Pilates intervention. BMI is calculated as weight (kg) divided by height (m²).
Baseline and at the end of 8 weeks
Change in Body Fat Percentage
Time Frame: Baseline and at the end of 8 weeks
Difference in body fat percentage before and after the intervention, assessed using bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA)
Baseline and at the end of 8 weeks
Change in Posture Score
Time Frame: Baseline and at the end of 8 weeks
Assessed using the New York Posture Rating Scale to evaluate improvements in postural alignment. This assessment is conducted by scoring potential postural changes in 13 different parts of the body. If the person's each parts of body posture is correct, a score of 5 is given; if moderately impaired, a score of 3; and if severely impaired, a score of 1. The total score ranges from a maximum of 65 to a minimum of 13. A higher score indicates better posture alignment.
Baseline and at the end of 8 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Changes in Emotional Eating
Time Frame: Baseline and at the end of 8 weeks
Participants' emotional eating changes were measured with the Emotional Eating Scale. The scale consists of 10 items and is structured in a 4-point Likert format (0 = Never, 1 = Sometimes, 2 = Often, 3 = Always). The scale is scored between 0 and 30. A score of "30" indicates the highest level of emotional eating behavior, while a score of "0" indicates the absence of emotional eating behavior.
Baseline and at the end of 8 weeks
Change in Social Physique Anxiety
Time Frame: Baseline and at the end of 8 weeks
Changes in participants' social physics anxiety levels were measured with The Social Physique Anxiety Inventory. The items in the inventory are answered using a five-point scale (completely false, mostly false, sometimes false, sometimes true, mostly true, completely true). The minimum possible score from the inventory is 12, and the maximum is 60. Higher scores indicate higher levels of anxiety about physical appearance
Baseline and at the end of 8 weeks
Change in Self-Esteem
Time Frame: Baseline and at the end of 8 weeks
The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale was used to measure self-esteem. The scale consists of 31 items. The minimum score is 31 and the maximum score is 155. An increase in the score obtained from the scale indicates an increase in self-esteem.
Baseline and at the end of 8 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of Yalova

Collaborators

The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Sema Arslan Kabasakal, Yalova University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

  • Arslan Kabasakal, S.; Delice, B. (2025). Investigating the Effects of Pilates on Body Composition, Posture, and Psychosocial Parameters in Obese and Non-Obese Women: A Randomized Controlled Study

Helpful Links

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

December 7, 2023

Primary Completion (Actual)

March 20, 2024

Study Completion (Actual)

May 24, 2024

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

February 19, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 24, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

March 25, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

March 25, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 24, 2025

Last Verified

February 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 2023/161
  • 1919B012224567 (Other Grant/Funding Number: TUBITAK)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

We attach importance to protecting the confidentiality of data.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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