Aerobic fitness influences rest and heart rate recovery on young men regardless of body mass index

Abstract

Obesity and aerobic fitness influence resting (HRrest) and heart rate recovery (HRR), and the evaluation of these parameters show a relevant clinical application. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of body mass index (BMI) and aerobic fitness on HRR after maximal exercise in healthy young men. Twenty nine untrained men (21.37 ± 2.11 years) were divided according to BMI (normal weight ≤24.9, overweight ≥25 and obese ≥30 kg m−2) and subsequently divided into higher aerobic fitness (125.00 ± 21.71 W) and lower aerobic fitness (72.69 ± 24.38 W), based on the median (105 W) aerobic fitness assessed through the workload at the heart rate variability threshold (HRVT). There were no differences (p > 0.05) for HRrest, aerobic fitness or HRR between the three BMI groups. Blood glucose and lipid profile were similar among groups, regardless of BMI and aerobic fitness. However, the young men with higher aerobic fitness showed lower HRrest (70.48 ± 6.54 vs 81.54 ± 6.46 bpm), HRR1 (163.1 ± 9.2 vs 170.1 ± 7.6 bpm), HRR2 (147.2 ± 7.4 vs 154.6 ± 8.1 bpm) and HRR3 (139.2 ± 6.9 vs 145.8 ± 8.0 bpm), compared to their pairs with lower aerobic fitness. Additionally, HRrest and the HRVT workload were significantly (p < 0.05) associated with HRR2 (r 0.49 and −0.49), HRR3 (r 0.60 and −0.53), HRR4 (r 0.53 and −0.47) and HRR5 (r 0.48 and −0.47). Aerobic fitness influenced HRrest and HRR in untrained young men, regardless of BMI.