4. Discussion
obesity, inflammation, myocardial injury
OBESITY, INFLAMMATION, OXIDATIVE STRESS
Contrary to our hypothesis, 8 weeks of CBD supplementation did not lead to improvements in aerobic and anaerobic fitness, physical activity, mental health and wellbeing, and inflammation. However, the present study revealed a potential effect of CBD on power output. CBD appeared to prevent reductions in peak anaerobic output in physically active adults, as evidenced by PG experiencing a significant ~10% decrease in PP, while CG experienced a non-significant ~3% increase in PP at the end of the intervention. This translated to a ~7% decrease in RPP for PG, but a ~3% increase in RPP for CG.The observed outcome of CBD preventing reductions in peak anaerobic output may be explained by the combination of CBD and exercise-induced oxidative stress. In a study on mice subjected to 3 weeks of exercise training, CBD treatment (50 mg/kg) down-regulated inflammatory protein expression and reversed myocardial injury [The results of the present study suggest that CBD may not influence measures of body composition. It was hypothesized that CBD would affect body composition by reducing BF%, based on research suggesting that CBD reduces intramuscular fatty acid accumulation, inhibits de novo lipogenesis, and improves fatty acid metabolism in both oxidative and glycolytic muscle types in rat models of obesity [The influence of CBD on aerobic and muscular strength measures was investigated, and no significant differences were observed. While a previous RCT observed that acute CBD (300 mg) intake increased VOCognitive function, psychological wellbeing, and inflammation did not improve in CG compared to PG, and this observation was contrary to previous research [There are several limitations that must be considered. The absence of specific measurement and randomization regarding the participants’ level of education and number of hours of physical activity per week before the study may have influenced the response to study procedures and assessments. Additionally, the surveys used to measure cognitive function may not have fully captured the diverse range of cognitive functions and abilities. Including more specific scales targeting attention, working memory, and executive functions would have provided a more comprehensive evaluation of cognitive performance. Another limitation of our study is that the 8-week intervention may not have been sufficient to observe significant effects on physical and mental health in healthy adults. The 8-week intervention duration was based on clinical trials involving oral CBD [Despite the limitations mentioned, this study has notable strengths. First, it employed a rigorous double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled design. Second, a comprehensive set of assessments including measures of body composition, aerobic and anaerobic fitness, cognitive function, psychological wellbeing, and inflammation were used. This multidimensional approach provides a holistic view of the potential effects of CBD on various aspects of health and fitness. Lastly, the study recruited a diverse sample of physically active adults, which increases the generalizability of the findings to a broader population. 