A study performed by Chinese and Thai scientists and published in January by the journal Public Library of Science One aimed to compare the effects of 12-week Bafa Wubu Tai Chi (BW-TC) and traditional He-style Tai Chi (TH-TC) exercise training on physical fitness parameters in overweight university students and to compare the differences in their effects.
A total of 81 overweight male university students were randomly assigned to the BW-TC group, with 27 of them in each group. Upper limb grip strength, wall squat, sitting and reaching, 6-minute walk, single-leg stance, and Y-balance were measured at baseline and after 12 weeks of Tai Chi training. There were no significant differences in demographic characteristics and assessment parameters among the groups at baseline.
Both BW-TC and TH-TC performed Tai Chi exercise program training lasting 12 weeks, with three sessions per week, each lasting 60 minutes intervention. The changes in mean scores for the sit-and-reach test were 3.11 cm and 4.52 cm, for the wall squat test were 27.56 s and 36.85 s, and for the 6-minute walk test were 22.93 m and 63.22 m, and Y-balance significantly increased in both BW-TC and TH-TC groups, while the mean score of single-leg stance significantly decreased.
Additionally, compared to the BW-TC group, the TH-TC group showed a significant increase in lower limb strength and the distance of the Y-balance test in the left posterior medial direction.
BW-TC and TH-TC interventions effectively improved physical fitness in overweight university students. However, TH-TC showed superior results in lower limb strength improvement.
