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High-intensity interval training impacts body composition of patients with metabolic syndrome
NEW ORLEANS — High-intensity interval training led to significant reductions in total body fat, abdominal fat distribution as well as an increase in lean mass compared with moderate-intensity interval continuous training in patients with metabolic syndrome, according to data presented during the American College of Cardiology Scientific Session.
“A considerable amount of research on [high-intensity interval training] has been done in athletes to demonstrate its ability to improve total exercise capacity and sports performance,” Yaoshan Dun, MD, PhD, a cardiac rehabilitation specialist at the Mayo Clinic and Xiangya Hospital of Central South University in Changsha, China, said in a press release. “Scientists and clinicians are just beginning to recognize the power that [high-intensity interval training] may have in clinical populations to prevent a second heart attack in patients who’ve already had one.”
Dun and colleagues analyzed patients with metabolic syndrome enrolled in cardiac rehabilitation who were screened retrospectively from 2015 to 2018. The analysis included 56 patients who completed 36 cardiac rehabilitation sessions and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry during a 12-week span.
Of those 56 patients, 42 engaged in high-intensity interval training and 14 participated in moderate-intensity continuous training. High-intensity interval training consisted of four to eight alternating intervals of high-intensity exercise (1 minute at 14-17 rate of perceived exertion [RPE]) and low-intensity exercise (3-5 minutes at 10-12 RPE). Moderate-intensity continuous training consisted of 30 minutes of exercise at 11 to 14 RPE.
Dun and colleagues matched the groups for age, sex, BMI, comorbidities and medications.
Overall, high-intensity interval training reduced fat mass, percent total body fat, percent waist fat, waist circumference and increased lean body mass (P < .05 for all) compared with moderate-intensity continuous training, according to results presented here.
Changes in BMI and body mass were not significant between the groups, according to the researchers.
Study author Thomas P. Olson, PhD, MS, associate professor of medicine and science and a consultant in the division of preventive cardiology in the department of cardiovascular medicine at Mayo Clinic, told Cardiology Today the findings show that an more efficient process is needed to increase patient participation in cardiac rehabilitation.
“There’s a number of barriers to participation in cardiac rehabilitation and the most commonly cited barrier is time — time away from work, time traveling to the centers and lost productivity at their job and wages due to having to take time away from work,” Olson said. “So, if we can create a more efficient practice with better outcomes, then that’s a fantastic thing for both the cardiac rehabilitation program and for the patients who are engaged in it.” – by Earl Holland Jr.
Reference:
Dun Y, et al. Abstract 1126-334. Presented at: American College of Cardiology Scientific Session; March 16-18, 2019; New Orleans.
Disclosures: Dun and Olson report no relevant financial disclosures.