Metabolic reponses to a physical exercise session in women with excess body mass: randomized clinical trial

Abstract

Background: There are various factors that influence the effect of physical exercise on the lipid profile, among them the body mass index and calorie expenditure of the exercise are some of the main factors. To test the hypothesis that a physical exercise session based on caloric expenditure may acutely modify the glycemia and lipid values of women with excess body mass. Methods: The study included 66 women, randomly divided into two groups, control and experimental, with BMI of 29 ± 4.4 kg/m2 vs 29 ± 4.3 kg/m2 (p = 0.45) sedentary and aged 23 ± 3.8 vs 24 ± 3.5 years, respectively (p = 0.25). After 12 h fasting, the volunteers underwent the first blood collection. The experimental group was submitted to a physical exercise session corresponding to energy expenditure of 250Kcal, of light intensity based the Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE), 12 h after the first blood collection. The control and experimental group volunteers underwent a second blood collection 24 h after the first. Glycemia, insulin status and lipid profile were measured and Homa IR and Homabeta were calculated. The t-test for independent and dependent samples was used, and a level of significance of 5% was adopted. Results: Physical exercise changed the glycemic response in both the intragroup analysis (before = 96 ± 6.6 mg/dL vs after = 92 ± 6.6 mg/dL), (p = 0.01), and in the intergroup analysis (control = Δ 0.9 ± 6.1 vs experimental = Δ -4.1 ± 6.3) (p = 0.02). No changes were shown for the Homa IR, Homa Beta and Insulin indexes. When the lipid profiles were evaluated, differences in HDL were shown in the intragroup analysis (before = 89 ± 10.5 mg/dL vs. after = 91 ± 10.3 mg/ dL) (p = 0.04). For the other parameters (LDL, TG, Total Cholesterol, TG/HDL), no changes were shown. Conclusion: In women with excess body weight, a low intensity exercise session diminished the glycemia, but did not change the lipid response.