비만 여대생의 지속적인 아로마 마사지가 비만관련 변인, 스트레스 호르몬과 심리적 변인에 미치는 영향

A Study of Effects of Consecutive Aroma Massages on Associated with Obesity, Stress Hormone, and Psychological Variable in Obese Female College Students

This paper aims to identify the effects of long-term aroma massages on obesity-related variables, stress hormones, and psychological variables related to the reduction of obesity through an eight-week experiment. 27 subjects were divided into two groups, the test group with 13 members and the control group with 14 members. The test group received body massages using aroma essential oil three times a week for eight weeks. The duration of massages was 25 to 30 minutes per massage. The experiment was designed using the 2x3 factorial design with repeated-measures on the second factor. Data was collected three times: preliminary measurement (week 0), intermediate measurement (week 4) and post-measurement (week 8). Through the research, the following analysis results were identified. First, weight, body fat, waist size, hip size, BMI, and WHR were significantly reduced in the consecutive aroma massage group as compared to the control group. Second, the consecutive aroma massage group showed a statistically significant reduction in stress hormones as compared to the control group. Third, the consecutive aroma massage group demonstrated a reduction in depression index as compared to the control group. Next, the consecutive aroma massage group had more positive effects in several sub-elements in physical self-description, physical competence, body fat, physical activity, health, self-esteem, and body across than the control group.