Effects of an Aerobic “Keeta” Thai Boxing Health Promotion Program on Body Mass Index, Waist Circumference and Physical Fitness among Overweight Working-Age Persons

Abstract

This quasi-experimental research with a two-group pretest-posttest design was conducted to study the effects of an aerobic “Keeta” Thai boxing health promotion program. The sample of 60 overweight working-age people were recruited into the study, and divided into a control and  experimental groups with 30 participants each. The control group received the current standard health promotion program. The experimental group participated in aerobic “Keeta” Thai boxing exercise and  health promotion activities different from the control group based on the concepts of Pender’s health promotion model which includes the perceived benefits of action, perceived barriers to action, and perceived self-efficacy of interpersonal and situational influences. Research instruments were a set of questionnaires and an assessment tool for body mass index, waist circumference, and 5-physical fitness measurements comprised of vital capacity, flexibility, grip strength, push-ups and curl-ups conducted before and after the 12-week aerobic “Keeta” Thai boxing exercise program. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, paired t-test, and independent t-test.

            Results: After completion of the intervention the experimental group had statistically significant lower mean scores for body mass index (p<.01) and waist circumference (p<.001) than the control group at p <.01. The experimental group also had significantly statistically higher mean scores for vital capacity, flexibility, and curl – ups than the control group, at p<.05. The findings of this study suggested that this program should be recommended for overweight prevention and control.