Cross-Sectional Analysis of Cardiometabolic Health in Men of Varying Body Composition and Strength Fitness Status

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PURPOSE: We have previously demonstrated that body composition and strength fitness status influence cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors such as arterial stiffness in overweight untrained (OU), overweight trained (OT), and lean trained (LT) men independent of body weight. In the present study, we examined the influence of body composition and training status on serum lipids, CVD markers and peripheral blood monocyte inflammation. METHODS: 71 young adult males were categorized into 1 of 3 groups: OU (n=30, BMI 30.0±1.8 kg/m2), OT (n=21, BMI 29.8±2.4 kg/m2, ≥4 d/wk resistance training (RT)) and LT (n=20, BMI 23.5±1.4 kg/m2, ≥4 d/wk RT). Evaluable subjects in each group were assessed for waist circumference (WC), body composition by DXA, 1-repetition maximum (1RM) strength, physical activity by questionnaire (IPAQ), carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT), fasting glucose, total cholesterol, LDL, HDL, non-HDL cholesterol, TG, MMP-9, myeloperoxidase (MPO), sE-Selectin, sICAM-1, sVCAM-1, tPAI-1 and adiponectin. Peripheral blood monocyte mRNA expression of TNF-α, MCP-1, IL-6 and IL-1B were analyzed by real-time PCR. RESULTS: LT exhibited lower BMI, body weight and WC compared to OU and OT groups (all P<0.001), while OT and OU had no significant differences in these outcomes. IPAQ confirmed that OT and LT engage in more vigorous exercise (MET-mins/wk) and exhibit higher 1RM strength for bench press and seated row compared to OU subjects (all P<0.009). OT had higher bench press, leg press, and total lean body mass (all P<0.04) than LT subjects. OT exhibit lower total body fat percentage (19.7±4.4 vs. 27.5±3.6%), lower TG (83.4±33.7 vs. 134.8±65.0 mg/dL), and higher HDL (48.9±8.3 vs. 42.1±7.4 mg/dL) than OU. Additionally, total cholesterol, LDL, TG and non-HDL cholesterol were all lower in LT subjects than in OU (all P<0.017), but no differences in plasma lipids were observed between OT and LT. No differences in CVD markers or cIMT were observed across phenotypic groups. Preliminary data revealed no mRNA differences in peripheral blood monocyte markers of inflammation. CONCLUSION: Preliminary results suggest that like arterial stiffness, fitness is more important than body weight in predicting blood lipid levels, however, no differences in other CVD markers and monocyte inflammation were noted across phenotypes.