International Journal of Human Movement and Sports Sciences Vol. 6(3), pp. 47 - 54
DOI: 10.13189/saj.2018.060301
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Acute Effect of Aerobic Exercise on Cardiovascular Reactivity of Overweight Males

David Chandrakumar ¹, Daria Dyck ², Stephen H Boutcher ¹, Yati N Boutcher ^1,*
1 School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
² University of British Columbia, Canada

ABSTRACT

Overweight compared to normal weight individuals typically possess reduced limb blood flow at rest and during mental challenge. The effect of a single bout of aerobic exercise on cardiovascular reactivity of young overweight males, however, is undetermined. Thus, the purpose was to examine the cardiovascular reactivity response of overweight males to mental challenge before and after acute aerobic exercise. Fifteen normal weight (NW) males with body mass index (BMI) between 18 and 25 kg/m² and 15 overweight males (OW) with BMI > 25 kg/m² aged 18-30 years acted as participants. All males underwent a 5-min Stroop task before and after one single 30-min bout of cycle exercise at 65% of maximal oxygen uptake (VO_2max). Heart rate, blood pressure, arterial stiffness, and forearm blood flow (FBF) were assessed during Stroop task before and after acute exercise. Arterial stiffness of the OW was significantly higher than NW during Stroop before (p =0.01) and after exercise (p = 0.001). After exercise, the OW had significantly smaller increase in FBF throughout Stroop (p = 0.04) compared to NW. The smaller increase in FBF throughout the Stroop in the OW was also accompanied by higher Stroop errors compared to that of NW (p = 0.01). Stroop errors were positively correlated with BMI, waist circumference, waist/hip ratio, and body fat percentage, whereas post-exercise FBF was positively correlated with VO_2max (p < 0.05). Being overweight was associated with a blunted FBF reactivity response and a greater number of errors during the Stroop task.

KEYWORDS
Acute Exercise, Overweight, Forearm Blood Flow, Arterial Stiffness, Blood Pressure

Cite This Paper in IEEE or APA Citation Styles
(a). IEEE Format:
[1] David Chandrakumar , Daria Dyck , Stephen H Boutcher , Yati N Boutcher , "Acute Effect of Aerobic Exercise on Cardiovascular Reactivity of Overweight Males," International Journal of Human Movement and Sports Sciences, Vol. 6, No. 3, pp. 47 - 54, 2018. DOI: 10.13189/saj.2018.060301.

(b). APA Format:
David Chandrakumar , Daria Dyck , Stephen H Boutcher , Yati N Boutcher (2018). Acute Effect of Aerobic Exercise on Cardiovascular Reactivity of Overweight Males. International Journal of Human Movement and Sports Sciences, 6(3), 47 - 54. DOI: 10.13189/saj.2018.060301.