Effects of Physical Training on Cardiac Modulation in Normal Weight, Overweight, and Obese Individuals: A Comparative Study

Abstract

Our study has assessed the effect of aerobic physical training on the heart rate variability (HRV) on sedentary women with different body mass indices (BMI; weight/height2). Forty-eight volunteers were divided into three groups according to their BMI as follows: NW group (normal weight), 18.0-24.9; OW group (overweight), 25.0-29.9; and OB group (obese), 30.0-39.9. HRV was assessed with the subjects at rest and during tilt test by means of spectral analysis before and after 16 weeks of an aerobic physical training protocol. Prior to the aerobic physical training, OW and OB groups exhibited decrease in low frequency (LF, 0.4-0.15 Hz) and high frequency (HF, 0.15-0.5 Hz). After aerobic physical training all groups had similar HF oscillations, with only OB group exhibiting increase in LF oscillations. The HRV responses to tilt test obtained before and after aerobic physical training showed that NW group had no differences in LF (34 ± 6% vs. 36 ± 8%) and HF (-65 ± 6% vs. -60 ± 7%) oscillations. However, OW group had an increase in LF (46 ± 6% vs. 86 ± 14%) and HF (-44 ± 7% vs.-61 ± 7%) oscillations, whereas OB group had a decrease in LF (288 ± 25% vs. 159 ± 16%) and HF (-83 ± 5 vs. -70 ± 4%) oscillations. In conclusion, our results suggest that the increase in the percentage of body fat may impair the cardiac autonomic modulation in proportion to BMI, which is an important predictor of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. In turn, the physical exercise can attenuate this negative effect, regardless of the reduction of body fat mass.