Autonomic responses induced by aerobic submaximal exercise in obese and overweight adolescents

Abstract

BackgroundGraded exercises tests are performed in adult populations; nonetheless, the use of this type of assessment is greatly understudied in overweight and obese adolescents.ObjectiveTo investigate heart rate autonomic responses to submaximal aerobic exercise in obese and overweight adolescents.MethodsWe recruited 40 adolescents divided into two groups: (1) overweight group comprising 10 boys and 10 girls between Z-score +1 and +2 and (2) obese group comprising 10 boys and 10 girls above Z-score >+2. Heart rate variability was analysed before (T1) and after exercise (T2–T4) on treadmill at a slope of 0%, with 70% of the maximal estimated heart rate (220 – age) for 20 minutes.ResultsHeart rate in the overweight group was: 93.2±10.52 bpm versus 120.8±13.49 bpm versus 94.6±11.65 bpm versus 93.0±9.23 bpm, and in the obese group was: 92.0±15.41 bpm versus 117.6±16.31 bpm versus 92.1±12.9 bpm versus 91.8±14.33 bpm. High frequency in the overweight group was: 640±633.1 ms2 versus 84±174.66 ms2 versus 603.5±655.31 ms2 versus 762.6±807.21 ms2, and in the obese group was: 628.4±779.81 ms2 versus 65.4±119.34 ms2 versus 506.2±482.70 ms2 versus 677.9±939.05 ms2; and root mean square of successive differences in the overweight group was: 37.9±18.81 ms versus 10.9±8.41 ms versus 32.8±24.07 ms versus 36.7±21.86 ms, and in the obese group was: 38.7±23.17 ms versus 11.5±8.62 ms versus 32.3±16.74 ms versus 37.3±24.21 ms. These values significantly changed during exercise compared with resting values in overweight and obese groups. Moreover, we also reported no significant difference of resting parasympathetic control of heart rate between obese and overweight adolescents.ConclusionThere was no significant difference of autonomic responses elicited by submaximal aerobic exercise between overweight and obese adolescents.

Interaction between Autonomic Regulation, Adiposity Indexes and Metabolic Profile in Children and Adolescents with Overweight and Obesity

“…Although autonomic abnormalities are usually treated as an organic irreversible disorder, it was previously documented that autonomic abnormalities may be in a large part functional in children with overweight and obesity [12,13] and the optimization of body weight by following healthy diet and physical activity programs could be considered a crucial strategy in their prevention and treatment [14][15][16][17][18].…”

Does bariatric surgery improve cardiac autonomic modulation assessed by heart rate variability? A systematic review

“…Part of the cardiovascular burden promoted by excess body mass involve changes in autonomic nervous system (ANS) control [16][17]. In obese individuals, HRV is reduced, which is produced by a reduction of vagal (parasympathetic) flow and an increase in sympathetic drive [16,[18][19]. A reduced HRV is associated with alterations in cardiac function (e.g., increases in HR and blood pressure) and structure (e.g., left ventricular hypertrophy, left atrial enlargement), increasing the risk of cardiovascular diseases and events (e.g., heart failure, arrhythmias, stroke, and myocardial infarction) [16,17,18].…”

Cardiac Autonomic Modulation in Response to Muscle Fatigue and Sex Differences During Consecutive Competition Periods in Young Swimmers: A Longitudinal Study

“…It has been observed in prepubertal children in Europe that a higher amount of body fat (31.4% in males and 37.3% in females) is related to a decrease in parasympathetic modulation ( Santos-Magalhaes et al, 2015 ), which coincidentally resembles the values evaluated in competitive swimmers in our study (30.3 ± 3.5% fat mass). Similarly, elevated body fat levels have been linked to altered states in cardiac autonomic activity after a 20-min jog event ( Santana et al, 2019 ), considering that the delay in autonomic recovery after exercise has been associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events ( Albert et al, 2000 ; Rossi et al, 2015 ). These would indicate that many genetic, sociocultural, lifestyle, and morphological variables may directly impact the baseline response of cardiac autonomic modulation ( Delgado-Floody et al, 2020 ).…”