Introduction
obesity, Obesity, CVD, CAD, diabetes
OBESITY, OBESITY, OBESE, CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE, CVD, DISEASE, POLAND, HYPERTENSION, DISEASES, CAD, DIABETES
Edited by: Frederic Castinetti, Aix-Marseille Université, FranceReviewed by: Ewa Śliwicka, Poznan University of Physical Education, Poland; Hao Su, Beijing Sport University, China; Pei-Tzu Wu, Pacific University, United StatesCardiac adipose tissue (CAT) has become an important target for the reduction of disease risk. Supervised exercise programs have shown potential to "significantly" reduce CAT; however, the impact of different exercise modalities is not clear, and the relationships between CAT, physical activity (PA) levels and fitness (PFit) remain unknown. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to analyze the relationships between CAT, PA and PFit, and to explore the effects of different exercise modalities in a group of women with obesity. A total of 26 women (age: 23.41 ± 5.78 years-old) were enrolled in the cross-sectional study. PA, cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular strength, body composition and CAT were evaluated. The pilot intervention included 16 women randomized to a control (CON, n=5), high intensity interval training (HIIT, n = 5) and high-intensity circuit training (HICT, n=6) groups. Statistical analysis showed negative correlations between CAT and vigorous PA (VPA) (Obesity is a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD), diabetes, hypertension, and other diseases and it is characterized by excess adipose tissue (Under normal physiological conditions, CAT deposits protect the heart by secreting various molecules (e.g., anti-inflammatory and anti-atherogenic cytokines), however, excess CAT has been postulated as a distinct pathologic feature for CAD development (Various methods exist to estimate body fat (e.g., anthropometric measures, dual x-ray, magnetic resonance imaging, and radiation-exposing computed tomography) (Currently, the relationship between physical activity (PA) levels, physical health, and CAT accumulation is unknown (In this context, vigorous exercise has shown to improve anti-inflammatory and metabolic function, and cardiovascular health on a dose response fashion (The goal of this study was to analyze the relationships between PA, PFit, and CAT volume in obese women, and to pilot test the differential effects when comparing energy expenditure-matched high-intensity interval aerobic and resistance training interventions.