The effects of obesity on functional work capacity and quality of life in phase II cardiac rehabilitation.

Many patients referred to cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programs are obese. It is unknown, however, whether obese patients derive reduced benefit from CR. A total of 388 CR patients were categorized into normal-weight, overweight, class I obese, and class II/III obese groups. Functional work capacity and quality of life were examined at baseline and after 12-week completion of the CR program. After adjusting for demographic and medical conditions, class II/III obese persons showed lower work capacity and physical quality of life at both baseline and follow-up. Class II/III obese individuals also showed smaller gains in work capacity from baseline to follow-up than all other groups. Further work is needed to identify strategies for improving outcome in obese patients, including incorporating structured weight loss into CR or post-CR referral to an exercise maintenance program.