Results from a pilot project indicate that isoflavones and exercise could have an additive effect on body composition and clinical risk factors of CVD in postmenopausal women. The objective of the present study was to assess the combined effect of exercise and isoflavones in overweight-to-obese postmenopausal women. In this double-blind randomised controlled trial, 100 overweight-to-obese (BMI 29·9 (SD 3·2) kg/m 2 ) postmenopausal women were assigned to four groups: (1) placebo (PLA); (2) isoflavones (ISO); (3) exercise and placebo (Ex þ PLA); (4) exercise and isoflavones (Ex þ ISO). The supplementation contained 70 mg/d of isoflavones. Exercise consisted of three weekly sessions of resistance training and aerobics. Outcome measures included fat mass (FM), lean body mass (LBM), bone mineral density, lipid profile, fasting glucose, fasting insulin and insulin resistance (homeostasis assessment model). The main effects of exercise were observed for total FM (P¼ 0·02), FM% (P, 0·01), trunk FM% (P¼0·05), arm FM% (P, 0·01), leg FM% (P¼0·02), arm LBM (P, 0·01), leg LBM (P¼ 0·02) and C-reactive protein (P, 0·01). A main effect was detected for isoflavones in improving leg FM% (P¼ 0·05). No interactions were observed between isoflavones and exercise. In conclusion, it was observed that 6 months of exercise brought favourable changes in total FM, FM% and LBM in overweight postmenopausal women. No synergistic effects were observed between exercise and isoflavones. However, isoflavones could have a beneficial effect on leg FM%.

Albeit providing trivial cardiovascular and thermoregulatory advantages, in trained distance runners, PFI (1,380 ± 320 mL/h) offers no performance benefits over TD fluid intake (384 ± 180 mL/h) during a half-marathon raced under warm conditions.

Exercise training can improve muscle tissue strength, function and quality in sedentary postmenopausal women. Isoflavones, irrespective of exercise, did not produce changes in these variables. From a clinical perspective, these results suggest that overweight women could reduce the risks of mobility impairments, even in the absence of weight loss, by following a sound exercise intervention that includes both resistance and aerobic training at a high intensity.

It is generally assumed that intestinal temperature (Tint), as measured with a telemetric pill, agrees relatively well with rectal temperature (Trec) during exercise. However, whether Tint reflects Trec during prolonged, intense and continuous exercise when cold fluids are consumed is unknown. Therefore, we compared Trec and Tint during a half-marathon during which cold water was ingested to prevent bodyweight (BW) losses >2%. Nine endurance athletes (age 30  ±  5 years) underwent a 21.1 km running time-trial (TT) in the heat (~30 °C and 44% RH) while BW losses were maintained to ~1% with continuous cold (4 °C) water provision. Tint and Trec were monitored throughout the TT. Hypohydration level, TT time and fluid intake were 1.2  ±  0.4% BW, 93.2  ±  9.9 min and 2143  ±  264 ml, respectively. Trec was systematically higher than Tint by 0.25 °C (95% CI: 0.14-0.37 °C). Tint and Trec showed an excellent relative (r = 0.90, p < 0.01), but poor absolute agreement as reflected by a 95% limit of agreement of ±1.07 °C and a standard error of measurement of ±0.39 °C. In conclusion, Tint does not mirror Trec during prolonged, intense running with cold fluid ingestion and, therefore, these measures should not be used interchangeably under this scenario.

Accurate sodium replacement during prolonged exercise is possible when sweat rate and sweat sodium content are directly measured. Few athletes have access to sweat sodium content measurement, as the equipment needed to perform such analyzes is costly, laboratory-based or requires technical skills. Using 70 sweat samples collected in 24 athletes from 3 anatomical sites, this study determined the reliability [single-trial and inter-day (7 samples over 3 days)] and validity (instrument error) of a pocket-sized, easy-to-use and low cost sodium analyzer (Horiba C-122, Kyoto, Japan) against reference values of an ion chromatograph, the 883 Basic IC plus (Metrohm AG, Herisau, Switzerland). The Horiba C-122 showed high single-trial reliability with an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of 0.997, a typical error of measurement (EM) of 1.77 mmol/L and a coefficient of variation (CV) of 3.73%. As expected, the reliability of the 883 Basic IC plus was superior to that of the Horiba C-122 (ICC: 0.999; typical EM: 0.70 mmol/L; CV: 1.52%). The Horiba’s C-122 inter-day reliability was high (ICC: 1.00; typical EM: 0.35 mmol/L). An ICC of 0.975 indicates there was a strong relationship between results provided by both analyzers. Compared with reference values, the Horiba C-122 demonstrated a mean bias of 1.71 mmol/L, a pure EM of 7.52 mmol/L and 68% limits of agreement ranging from -5.81 to 9.23 mmol/L. We propose that the Horiba C-122 is sufficiently reliable to be used under field conditions where some degree of imprecision is acceptable, but not for research purposes where high accuracy is required.