Combined exercise for body composition and cardiometabolic health in obese young people meta analysis

Combined exercise (CE) may offer benefits beyond aerobic exercise (AE) alone for individuals with overweight or obesity, but comparative evidence remains uncertain. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials comparing CE with AE in adolescents and young adults aged 6–45 years. Twenty-nine studies involving 1,383 participants were included. Compared with AE, CE was associated with greater improvements in lean body mass and insulin-resistance indicators, including insulin and HOMA-IR. No consistent between-group differences were observed for body weight, BMI, body fat percentage, waist circumference, systolic blood pressure, or lipid outcomes, while HDL-C showed a small difference favoring AE. Secondary and exploratory analyses should be interpreted cautiously because several outcomes were supported by limited studies and low-to-very-low certainty evidence. These findings suggest that CE may be useful for selected body composition and metabolic outcomes, but does not appear universally superior to AE.