The Effect of Wellness Programs Based on Tele-Exercise and Nutrition Assistance Decreased Body Weight, BMI, and Waist Circumference Obese Employees in Indonesia

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to assess the impact of tele-exercise on weight loss, BMI (Body Mass Index), waist circumference, and body composition in overweight and obese office employees. METHODS: 19 male and female overweight and obese employees (18-45 years, 23-30 kg/m² of BMI) were intervened with nutrition education and an exercise program. Exercise consisted of strength training (including core training, circuit training, HIIT, and Tabata workouts), while the cardio component involved low- to high-impact, moderate-intensity aerobic exercises. Participants engaged in tele-exercise sessions three times a week for 12 weeks via the ZOOM platform. All participants received a nutrition education intervention, consisting of a group chat intervention, personalized one-on-one nutrition consultation, and visitation from a team of nutritionists. RESULTS: Subjects’ ages ranged from 23 to 45 years old, averaging at 30.53±3.73 years old(30.53±3.73 years old for males and 29.50±8.17 for females). 6 of 25 subjects dropped out due to changing workplace, with the remaining 19 continuing intervention until the end of the study. There are significant positive changes in body weight (P<0.000), BMI (P<0.000), and waist circumference (P<0.000), while only males have significant fat mass reduction, albeit not in terms of fat mass percentage on the whole body (P<0.017) . The combined group shows a muscle mass percentage increase, largely contributed by males since females have a trend towards loss of muscle mass percentage, albeit not significant. CONCLUSION: Combined tele-health (tele-exercise and tele-consultation) improves overweight/obese office employees waist circumference, body weight, and BMI. Only male employee experiences significant body composition improvement.