Relationship Of Exercise Intensity Tolerance To Cardiometabolic Risk Factors And Body Composition In Healthy Females

Abstract

When compared with moderate-intensity exercise, high-intensity exercise has been found to result in superior or equal improvements in cardiometabolic (CMB) health and body composition. However, individual differences exist in one’s ability to tolerate higher intensities of exercise which may put those with a lower tolerance at risk for less favorable CMB health and body composition. PURPOSE: Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the associations of exercise intensity tolerance and individual CMB risk factors and body composition variables in young adult females. METHODS: The sample consisted of 25 non-obese [body mass index (BMI) < 30 kg/m2] apparently healthy females aged 22.6 ± 4.2 years examined in a cross-sectional study. After obtaining informed consent, each participant had measures of exercise intensity tolerance using The Preference for and Tolerance of the Intensity of Exercise Questionnaire, individual CMB risk factors, and body composition including anthropometric and imaging variables assessed. Spearman’s rho (ρ) was computed to examine the bivariate correlations between exercise intensity tolerance and CMB risk factors and body composition variables. Statistical significance was set a priori at P≤0.05. RESULTS: Exercise intensity tolerance was associated with a number of CMB risk variables including resting heart rate (ρ = -0.56, P < 0.01), systolic (ρ = -0.48, P = 0.01) and diastolic (ρ = -0.57, P < 0.01) blood pressure, total cholesterol (ρ = -0.53, P < 0.01), triglycerides (ρ = -0.52, P < 0.01), and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (ρ = -0.48, P = 0.02). For body composition, exercise intensity tolerance was correlated with waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) (ρ = -0.48, P = 0.02), bone mineral content (ρ = 0.42, P = 0.04), bone mineral density (ρ = 0.47, P = 0.02), bone density T-score (ρ = 0.49, P = 0.02), and bone density Z-score (ρ = 0.46, P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Exercise intensity tolerance was negatively associated with resting heart rate and blood pressure, total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL, and WHtR, and positively associated with bone density variables. These findings suggest that as exercise intensity tolerance increases, so does the favorability of CMB health and bone density in young adult females.