title: Effects of a Social Welfare Program for Health Promotion on Cardiovascular Risk Factors.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Socioeconomic status is closely associated with an individual's health status. However, there are few studies examining the role of exercise-training as part of a community-based social welfare program in socially vulnerable groups. Given this, our aim was to measure whether long-term exercise training as a social welfare program affects the prevalence of depressive symptoms, metabolic syndrome and peripheral blood vessel condition among participants with low household income.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-nine adults and twenty-two older adults were recruited into this study with non-radomized, pre/post-test design. The subjects underwent a combined training consisting of aerobic and muscle strengthening exercises for 6 months or more. Depressive symptoms were evaluated using the Beck Depression Inventory and the Korean version of Geriatric Depression Scale. Metabolic syndrome was defined according to the International Diabetes Federation criteria. Blood vessel condition was assessed using non-invasive accelerated photoplethysmograph.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean skeletal muscle mass increased after exercise-training, but body mass index and percent body fat were unchanged. Overall age-specific physical fitness and performance increased markedly among both adult and elderly subjects, respectively. The proportion of depressive symptoms was significantly reduced by 33% after exercise-training among all participants. The prevalence of individuals having metabolic syndrome was significantly reduced by 19.6% and the number of individual components of metabolic syndrome decreased after the exercise intervention. Among components of metabolic syndrome, waist circumference, HDL cholesterol and systolic blood pressure significantly improved. In addition, the proportions of moderate and severe arteriosclerotic progression significantly decreased.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Long-term exercise-training as a social welfare program is beneficial for health promotion and effective in simultaneously improving psychological and physiological health status in a low income population. This suggests that the development and expansion of an exercise intervention as a health-promoting welfare program are needed to address the inequality of exercise participation among socially vulnerable groups.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju, Korea.
authors.forename: Seong-Jin
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju, Korea; Center for Exercise Medicine, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju, Korea.
authors.forename: Jae Seung
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju, Korea; Center for Exercise Medicine, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju, Korea.
authors.forename: In Deok
authors.initials: ID
authors.lastname: Kong
keywords: Depressive symptoms; Exercise training; Metabolic syndrome; Peripheral blood vessel condition; Social welfare program; Socioeconomic status