en فيزيولوژی ورزشی و شاخه‌های وابسته بدان Sport Physiology and its related branches مقاله اصیل Original Article <div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Background.</strong> Obesity is considered a major global public health issue. Interestingly, physical exercise has a vital role in preventing, managing, and treating obesity. However, bariatric surgery has been reported as an effective treatment option.<br> <strong>Objectives. </strong>The present trial aimed to investigate the effectiveness of a 6-month, real-world, multi-component exercise intervention with bariatric surgery to improve anthropometric and physical function parameters in individuals with obesity.<br> <strong>Methods. </strong>Seventy-one individuals (73% female, mean age: 39.7&plusmn;20.3 years) with obesity (mean body mass index: 38.4&plusmn;3.0 kg/m2) were recruited, and 69 completed the study. Participants were divided into i) exercise group (EX, n=25; randomly assigned), ii) bariatric surgery group (BS, n=23; group-randomized), and iii) non-exercise and non-surgical control group (C, n=23; randomly assigned). Anthropometric parameters, handgrip strength, functional aerobic capacity, and flexibility were assessed at baseline and after six months.<br> <strong>Results. </strong>The EX and BS groups experienced beneficial changes in anthropometrics, functional aerobic capacity, and flexibility compared with C (p<0.001). BS demonstrated greater improvements in anthropometrics and functional aerobic capacity than C (p<0.05), while EX showed higher increases in handgrip strength than BS (p<0.05). Also, moderate negative and positive associations were found between anthropometrics and physical function changes in EX and BS, respectively.<br> <strong>Conclusion. </strong>A multi-component exercise programming approach could enhance physical capabilities. At the same time, bariatric surgery improved anthropometric characteristics, suggesting that surgical interventions may improve body composition but not muscular fitness in obese individuals.</div> Obesity, Weight Loss, Muscular Strength, Cardiorespiratory Fitness, Flexibility 0 0 http://aassjournal.com/browse.php?a_code=A-11-2213-3&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Marilyn Gilyana marilyn.gilyana@ukb.ac.ae 100319475328460015232 100319475328460015232 Yes College of Sport Science, University of Kalba, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates Alexios Batrakoulis abatrakoulis@uth.gr 100319475328460015233 100319475328460015233 No Department of Physical Education and Sport Science, School of Physical Education, Sport Science and Dietetics, University of Thessaly, Trikala, Greece Dimitrios G. Goulis dgg@auth.gr 100319475328460015234 100319475328460015234 No Unit of Reproductive Endocrinology, 1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece Konstantina Symeonidou ksymeoni@auth.gr 100319475328460015235 100319475328460015235 No Laboratory of Experimental Physiology, Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece Sameer Badri Al-Mhanna sameerbadri9@gmail.com 100319475328460015236 100319475328460015236 No Department of Physiology, School of Medical Sciences, University Sains Malaysia, Kelantan, Malaysia Evangelia Kouidi kouidi@phed.auth.gr 100319475328460015237 100319475328460015237 No Laboratory of Sports Medicine, Department of Physical Education and Sport Science, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece