Abstract
Weight loss improves endothelial function in overweight individuals. The effects of weight loss through combined aerobic and resistance training and caloric restriction on in vivo vascular measures and blood markers associated with the regulation of endothelial function have not been comprehensively examined. Therefore, we investigated brachial artery endothelial function and potential regulatory blood markers in twenty overweight women (30.3 ± 2.0 years) who participated in 16 weeks of aerobic (5 d/wk) and resistance training (2 d/wk) (combined: ≥250 kcal/d) and caloric restriction (−500 kcal/d versus requirement). Resting brachial artery flow mediated dilation (FMD) and circulating endothelin-1 (ET-1) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were assessed at baseline and following the intervention. Relative and absolute FMD increased (before: 4.0 ± 0.5% versus after: 6.9 ± 0.6%, P < 0.05, and before: 0.14 ± 0.02 mm versus after: 0.23 ± 0.02 mm, P < 0.05, resp.), while body mass decreased (before: 86.9 ± 2.4 kg versus after: 81.1 ± 2.4 kg, P < 0.05) following the intervention. There were no changes in either blood marker (IL-6: before: 1.5 ± 0.2 pg/mL versus after: 1.5 ± 0.1 pg/mL, P > 0.05, and ET-1: before: 0.55 ± 0.05 pg/mL versus after: 0.59 ± 0.09 pg/mL, P > 0.05). 16 weeks of combined aerobic/resistance training and diet-induced weight loss improved endothelial function in overweight and obese young women, but this increase was not associated with changes in blood markers of vasoconstriction or inflammation.
Highlights
The vascular endothelium plays many roles, including contributing to the regulation of vascular smooth muscle tone
There was no change in resting heart rate or resting mean arterial pressure (MAP), systolic blood pressure (SBP), or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) over time following the intervention (Table 2)
The main findings of this study were that brachial artery endothelial function assessed by relative (Δ%) and absolute (Δmm) flow-mediated dilation (FMD) improved after the 16-week diet and exercise intervention; circulating serum concentrations of IL-6 and ET-1 were unchanged in our population of overweight women
Summary
The vascular endothelium plays many roles, including contributing to the regulation of vascular smooth muscle tone. FMD measured in the brachial artery has been documented to correlate with pharmacological evaluations of coronary artery endothelial function [1]. Aerobic exercise training improves endothelial function [4] and studies have reported a positive relationship between exerciseinduced weight loss and endothelial function in overweight and obese men and women with established coronary heart disease [5]. A positive relationship between diet-induced weight loss and endothelial function in overweight and obese women with increased cardiovascular risk has been reported [6,7,8]. No data exists on the effects of combined dietand exercise-induced (aerobic and resistance) weight loss on FMD in otherwise healthy overweight and obese women
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