Hypertension affects 25% of the world's population and is considered a risk factor for cardiovascular disorders and other diseases. The aim of this study was to examine the evidence regarding the acute effect of exercise on blood pressure (BP) using meta-analytic measures. Sixty-five studies were compared using effect sizes (ES), and heterogeneity and Z tests to determine whether the ES were different from zero. The mean corrected global ES for exercise conditions were -0.56 (-4.80 mmHg) for systolic BP (sBP) and -0.44 (-3.19 mmHg) for diastolic BP (dBP; z ≠ 0 for all; p < 0.05). The reduction in BP was significant regardless of the participant's initial BP level, gender, physical activity level, antihypertensive drug intake, type of BP measurement, time of day in which the BP was measured, type of exercise performed, and exercise training program (p < 0.05 for all). ANOVA tests revealed that BP reductions were greater if participants were males, not receiving antihypertensive medication, physically active, and if the exercise performed was jogging. A significant inverse correlation was found between age and BP ES, body mass index (BMI) and sBP ES, duration of the exercise's session and sBP ES, and between the number of sets performed in the resistance exercise program and sBP ES (p < 0.05). Regardless of the characteristics of the participants and exercise, there was a reduction in BP in the hours following an exercise session. However, the hypotensive effect was greater when the exercise was performed as a preventive strategy in those physically active and without antihypertensive medication.

Objective: To verify the validity of the body adiposity index (BAI) in a sample of Costa Rican students. Methods: Volunteers were 93 females (mean age 5 18.6 6 2.4 years) and 106 males (mean age 5 19.2 6 2.8 years). Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) was used as the "gold standard" to determine body fat percentage (BF%). Pearson's correlation coefficient and paired samples t-test studied the association and mean differences between BAI and DXA BF%. Concordance between BAI and DXA BF% was determined by the Lin's concordance correlation coefficient and the Bland-Altman agreement analysis.Results: Significant correlations between BAI and DXA BF% were found for females (r 5 0.74) and males (r 5 0.53) (P < 0.001). Differences between methods were found for females (BAI 5 29.3 6 4.1% vs. DXA 5 36.5 6 7.9%) and males (BAI 5 24.8 6 3.7% vs. DXA 5 21.9 6 8.6%; P < 0.001). Concordance was poor in females and males. Bland-Altman plots showed BAI underestimating and overestimating BF% in relation to the "gold standard" in females and males, respectively.Conclusions: BAI presented low agreement with BF% measured by DXA; therefore, BAI is not recommended for BF% prediction in this Central American sample studied. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 28:394-397, 2016.

Briceño-Torres, JM, Carpio-Rivera, E, Solera-Herrera, A, Forsse, J, Grandjean, PW, and Moncada-Jiménez, J. Low-intensity resistance training improves flow-mediated dilation in young hispanic adults. J Strength Cond Res 37(2): 298–304, 2023—The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of 2 resistance exercise training (RET) intensities on brachial artery flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) in sedentary males. Thirty-four men (age = 20.6 ± 1.8 years, height = 171.3 ± 5.2 cm, body mass = 65.2 ± 10.6 kg, and DXA fat mass = 22.3 ± 7.4%) were randomly assigned to a control group (no exercise CTRL, n = 12), RET at 50% of 1 repetition maximum (1RM) (RET50%, n = 12), and RET at 80% 1RM (RET80%, n = 10). The RET program was performed twice per week for 8 weeks; subjects performed the same RET exercises at similar total workloads (1920 arbitrary units [AUs] for the RET80% and 1950 AUs for the RET50%). The FMD% was measured before and after 8 weeks by ultrasound. Mixed factorial analysis of variance (3 groups × 2 measurements), effect size (ES), and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were computed for FMD%. The level of significance was set at p ≤ 0.05. A significant increase (p = 0.001) was found on post-test FMD% in RET50% (mean = 9.9 ± 3.7%, ES = 1.9, and 95% CIs = 2.8–0.9) compared with CTRL (mean = 5.7 ± 1.7%, ES = 0.2, and 95% CIs = −0.4 to 0.8), and there were no significant differences found between RET50% and RET80% and between RET80% and CTRL. Results support the concept of training specificity and provide preliminary evidence that lower resistance and higher repetition RET elicit greater short-term reduced endothelium dysfunction than higher intensity RET at similar training volume.

To determine if the menstrual cycle phase (menstruation versus late follicular phase) influences in the response of blood pressure (BP) after the resistance training (RT), nineteen university students, young and healthy women (age: 18,6±1,47 years old; weight: 55,8±8,0 kg; height: 157,9±6,4 cm) participated in six RT sessions. Low intensity was for the first three sessions for the subjects to be familiarized with breathing, speed and exercise techniques. In the fourth session, one maximum repetition (1RM) was applied in each resistance exercise. Once this value was determined (RM), the participants applied the RT protocol by 60% intensity of 1RM, one session during menstruation and another one close to ovulation. The RT protocol included three repetitions per set in 10 exercises. Previous, immediately after and during 24-hours after the RT, the BP was monitored using the ambulatory BP to determine if the RT varied based on the menstrual cycle. The ANOVA demonstrated no significant differences in neither the systolic blood pressure (sBP), diastolic, nor media during 24-hour considering waking or sleeping periods, but the heart rate (HR) values were higher when participants were close to ovulation compared when they were in their period. The observation by hours after the RT demonstrated that: (1) no matter the menstrual cycle period, the systolic BP was higher while the diastolic was lower immediately after the RT, (2) at the beginning of the day; the BP values were lower during the late follicular phase. In conclusion, the hypotension post-RT was not affected by the menstrual cycle although the HR was higher during the late follicular phase.

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