High-Intensity Functional Training and Weight/BMI Management in ‎Obesity: A Comprehensive Review

Obesity has emerged as one of the most pressing public health challenges of the ۲۱st century, ‎affecting populations across all age groups and socioeconomic strata worldwide. While ‎fundamentally rooted in energy imbalance, the multifactorial nature of obesity—‎encompassing genetic, psychological, metabolic, behavioral, and environmental ‎determinants—renders its prevention and treatment exceptionally complex. High-intensity ‎functional training (HIFT) has gained considerable attention as a time-efficient exercise ‎modality that may confer meaningful improvements in body weight, body mass index (BMI), ‎and overall body composition among individuals with overweight or obesity. This ‎comprehensive review synthesizes evidence from randomized controlled trials, systematic ‎reviews, and meta-analyses examining the effects of HIFT and related functional high-‎intensity interval training (HIIT) protocols on anthropometric outcomes in overweight and ‎obese populations. The available evidence indicates that HIFT consistently improves body ‎composition—reducing fat mass and increasing or preserving lean mass—and, in numerous ‎trials, significantly reduces body weight and BMI. These improvements are observed across ‎diverse populations, including adolescents, adults, and individuals with mobility disabilities. ‎Comparative analyses suggest that HIFT may confer advantages over traditional resistance ‎training and, in some cases, over conventional HIIT protocols, particularly regarding ‎functional capacity and lean mass accrual. Notably, meaningful improvements in ‎cardiometabolic health can occur even when changes in weight or BMI are minimal, ‎underscoring the importance of body composition assessment beyond simple anthropometric ‎indices. The combination of HIFT with dietary strategies, particularly time-restricted eating, ‎appears to produce the most robust improvements in weight, BMI, and metabolic health ‎markers. Future research should prioritize long-term randomized controlled trials with ‎standardized protocols, larger sample sizes, and comprehensive outcome assessments to ‎establish optimal dosing parameters and elucidate the mechanisms underlying HIFT's efficacy ‎in obesity management‎

کلیدواژه ها:

High-intensity functional training ، obesity ، body mass index ، body composition ، weight loss ، ‎time-restricted eating ، metabolic health