Abstract
This study examined the effects of 4 weeks of living high-training low and high (LHTLH) under moderate hypoxia on body weight, body composition, and metabolic risk markers of overweight and obese females. Nineteen healthy overweight or obese females participated in this study. Participants were assigned to the normoxic training group (NG) or the LHTLH group (HG). The NG participants lived and trained at sea level. The HG participants stayed for approximately 10 hours in a simulated 2300 m normobaric state of hypoxia for six days a week and trained for 2 hours 3 times a week under the same simulated hypoxia. The interventions lasted for 4 weeks. All groups underwent dietary restriction based on resting metabolic rate. The heart rate of the participants was monitored every ten minutes during exercise to ensure that the intensity was in the aerobic range. Compared with the preintervention values, body weight decreased significantly in both the NG and the HG (−8.81 ± 2.09% and −9.09 ± 1.15%, respectively). The fat mass of the arm, leg, trunk, and whole body showed significant reductions in both the NG and the HG, but no significant interaction effect was observed. The percentage of lean soft tissue mass loss in the total body weight loss tended to be lower in the HG (27.61% versus 15.94%, P=0.085). Between the NG and the HG, significant interaction effects of serum total cholesterol (−12.66 ± 9.09% versus −0.05 ± 13.36%,) and apolipoprotein A1 (−13.66 ± 3.61% versus −5.32 ± 11.07%, P=0.042) were observed. A slight increase in serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) was observed in the HG (1.12 ± 12.34%) but a decrease was observed in the NG (−11.36 ± 18.91%). The interaction effect of HDL-C between NG and HG exhibited a significant trend (P=0.055). No added effects on serum triglycerides (TGs), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), or APO-B were observed after 4 weeks of LHTLH. In conclusion, 4 weeks of LHTLH combined with dietary restriction could effectively reduce the body weight and body fat mass of overweight and obese females. Compared with training and sleeping under normoxia, no additive benefit of LHTLH on the loss of body weight and body fat mass was exhibited. However, LHTLH may help to relieve the loss of lean soft tissue mass and serum HDL-C.
Highlights
Obesity has become a global public health concern. e World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that the prevalence of obesity has nearly tripled since 1975; 39% of adults and more than 340 million children and adolescents were overweight or obese in 2016 [1]
Kong et al reported that 16 hours of exercise in normoxia combined with 6 hours of exercise under moderate hypoxia per week plus dietary restriction composing an intervention lasting for 4 weeks resulted in a 6.9 kg reduction in body weight [21]. rough the above analysis, it suggests that maintaining normal dietary behavior, low exercise volume, and short exposure to hypoxia may be related to the slight reduction of body weight
We observed a significant decrease in body weight in overweight and obese young females after 4 weeks of dietary restriction combined with high-volume aerobic training in both normoxia and simulated hypoxia
Summary
Obesity has become a global public health concern. e World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that the prevalence of obesity has nearly tripled since 1975; 39% of adults and more than 340 million children and adolescents were overweight or obese in 2016 [1]. Living low-training high (LLTH) which means that just training under hypoxia has been used for obese subjects in several studies. On 3 hours to 4.5 hours per week for 4–8 weeks, an aerobic training intervention under moderate hypoxia showed only slight reductions in body weight [19, 20]. Kong et al reported that 16 hours of exercise in normoxia combined with 6 hours of exercise under moderate hypoxia per week plus dietary restriction composing an intervention lasting for 4 weeks resulted in a 6.9 kg reduction in body weight [21]. Rough the above analysis, it suggests that maintaining normal dietary behavior, low exercise volume, and short exposure to hypoxia may be related to the slight reduction of body weight. No previous study has examined overweight or obese subjects and related physiologic responses employed by LHTLH
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