Abstract
Objective: While diet and exercise reduce the risk of cardiovascular morbidity in overweight populations, the effects of combined aerobic and resistance training on arterial health has not been comprehensively examined. Methods: We investigated changes in both central and peripheral arterial stiffness using carotid artery distensibility and carotid to radial pulse wave velocity (PWVc-r), respectively, in twenty-five overweight, young women who participated in 16-weeks of 5-7 d/wk aerobic exercise, 2 d/wk resistance training, and hypo-caloric diet intervention. Pro-Collagen Type I C-Peptide (PIP) was used as a marker of type I collagen synthesis and C-telopeptide of type I collagen (CTX), a marker of type I collagen degradation. Results: Carotid artery distensibility was unaltered (Pre: 5.1×10-3 ± 3.9×10-4 vs. Post: 5.5×10-3 ± 3.5×10-4, p=0.26); however, PWVc-r increased following the intervention (Pre: 8.1 ± 0.3 m/s vs. Post: 8.9 ± 0.3 m/s, p<0.05). There were no changes in PIP (Pre: 1188 ± 91 ng/mL vs. Post: 1222 ± 94 ng/mL, p = 0.69), however, CTX increased with the intervention (0.65 ± 0.01 ng/mL vs. Post: 0.80 ± 0.02 ng/mL, p<0.001). There were no relationships between markers of collagen turnover and arterial stiffness measures. Conclusion: The intervention did not alter carotid artery distensibility or circulating markers of type I collagen synthesis but was associated with increased PWVc-r and CTX. Therefore, 16-weeks of diet and combined aerobic and resistance training may lead to increased peripheral artery stiffness, as measured by PWVc-r, however, cardiovascular risk assessed by carotid artery distensibility remained unchanged.
Highlights
Obesity has been identified as an independent risk factor for Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) [1,2]
Rakobowchuk and colleagues found no change in carotid artery compliance after 6 and 12 weeks of whole body resistance training in young healthy men yet other studies have observed increases in both central and peripheral arterial stiffness after short duration resistance training in moderately active middle-aged men and in women with pre- and stage 1 hypertension [8,10,11]
Yang reported a decrease in whole body arterial stiffness in obese women (30-60 years) after three months of combined aerobic and resistance training [12]
Summary
Obesity has been identified as an independent risk factor for Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) [1,2]. Aerobic exercise has been shown to increase central arterial compliance and decrease carotid-femoral PWV and augmentation index and the risk of CVD in a variety of populations including young healthy men hypertensive men and women and both active and inactive pre- and postmenopausal women [5,6,7,8,9]. It is unclear whether these arterial health benefits are limited to exercise training programs that are primarily aerobic in nature or if other exercise modalities such as resistance training or combined aerobic and resistance training can decrease arterial stiffness. The variations in methods and measurement sites in different studies likely contribute to the variability in outcomes with respect to the effects of different exercise training programs on arterial stiffness
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
