Impact of Physical Activity on Pulmonary Function and Respiratory Muscle Strength in Obese Young Adults

Abstract

Physical inactivity is a crucial contributor to the obesity epidemic. Previous studies demonstrated that physical inactivity and obesity have been linked with the impairments of pulmonary and respiratory muscle function. However, the impact of physical activity (PA) on pulmonary and respiratory muscle function in obese young adults remains unclear. The study aimed to compare pulmonary and respiratory muscle function between physically inactive and active obese young adults. Obese young adults (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2) aged between 18 - 25 years old were included. They were classified into 2 groups, physically inactive obese (IO, n = 16) and active obese (AO, n = 14) groups according to the metabolic equivalent of task (MET) obtained from the global physical activity questionnaire (GPAQ). Then, pulmonary and respiratory muscle function were measured. The results showed that there were no differences in baseline data between groups. The AO group showed significantly higher forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) (2.90 ± 0.55 vs 3.40 ± 0.79, p = 0.04), and maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP) (96.25 ± 6.18 vs 124.50 ± 12.28, p = 0.01) than those IO group. There were no differences between the groups in regard to FVC, FEV1/FVC ratio, %FVC, %FEV1, MVV, %MVV and maximum expiratory pressure (MEP) (all p > 0.05). In addition, FEV1 (r = 0.43, p = 0.01) and MIP (r = 0.40, p = 0.03) were positively moderately correlated with MET. Higher in FEV1 and MIP which observed in physically active obese young adults indicate that regular PA appears to be beneficial to pulmonary function and inspiratory muscle strength in obese individuals. HIGHLIGHTS Several epidemiological studies showed that obesity increases the prevalence of morbidity and clinical presentation of many respiratory diseases. Physical inactivity is one factor that affect respiratory function The pulmonary and respiratory muscle function between physically inactive and active obese young adults were compared Higher values of FEV1 and MIP were observed in obese young adults who were physically active, suggesting the benefits of PA in maintaining pulmonary function and inspiratory muscle strength GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT