Effects of judo training upon body composition, autonomic function, and cardiorespiratory fitness in overweight or obese children aged 8- to 13 years.

Physical training is recommended for obese paediatric populations. We investigated the effects of recreational judo training (JT) upon body composition and distribution, cardiorespiratory fitness, and heart rate variability (HRV) in overweight or obese children. A controlled trial (RBR-9d94td) was conducted with 35 children (8-13 years) assigned into groups according to their body mass index (BMI): eutrophic (EU; n = 15; z-BMI ≤ +l and ≥ -2) and overweight or obese (OB; n = 20; z-BMI > +1 and ≤ +3). The 12-week JT included 60-min sessions performed 2 times/week at 65-75% maximal heart rate (HR). BMI, waist circumference, blood pressure, HRV, peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak), gas exchange threshold (GET), and body fractioning were assessed. Significant reductions in OB (P < 0.05) occurred for whole body and trunk fat (~3%), trunk/limb fat-ratio (~4%), resting HR (~3%), and sympathovagal balance (log LF:HF, ~85%). Increases (P < 0.05) occurred in lean mass (~8%), parasympathetic modulation (log HF, ~4%), VO2peak (~5-10%), and VO2 (~15%), speed (~10%) and slope (~13%) at GET. Markers of cardiorespiratory fitness (relative VO2, slope and speed at GET) in OB approached EU after JT. In conclusion, a relatively short JT intervention to improved body composition, autonomic modulation, and physical fitness in obese children.

Curcuminoids from Curcuma Longa: New adjuvants for the treatment of crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis?

Crohn's Disease (CD) and Ulcerative Colitis (UC) result from an overreaction of the bowel to multifactorial stimuli leading to discomfort, pain, and it is associated with high morbidity and lethality. The medications commonly used are expensive and associated with multiple side effects. Curcuma longa exerts anti-inflammatory and antioxidant actions and has shown positive effects on CD and UC treatment, possibly due to the presence of curcuminoids. The objective of this review was to evaluate the role of curcuminoids in the treatment of IBD. A search for articles associating curcuminoids and CD and UC was performed using MEDLINE-PubMed. It has been found that curcumin can reduce oxidative stress and inhibit the migration of neutrophils and inducible nitric oxide synthase in the intestine. It may also improve micro and macroscopic lesions, prevent apoptosis of intestinal cells and also induce the restoration of the mitogen-activated protein kinase immune reaction. As the incidence of CD and UC is growing in many populations, there is an urgency to find an appropriate and accessible therapeutic approach to improve quality of life of patients. The use of curcumin is cheap, efficient and associated with no side effects, and may become an alternative to the IBD treatment.

Hemodynamic responses during and after multiple sets of stretching exercises performed with and without the Valsalva maneuver.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the acute hemodynamic responses to multiple sets of passive stretching exercises performed with and without the Valsalva maneuver. METHODS: Fifteen healthy men aged 21 to 29 years with poor flexibility performed stretching protocols comprising 10 sets of maximal passive unilateral hip flexion, sustained for 30 seconds with equal intervals between sets. Protocols without and with the Valsalva maneuver were applied in a random counterbalanced order, separated by 48-hour intervals. Hemodynamic responses were measured by photoplethysmography pre-exercise, during the stretching sets, and post-exercise. RESULTS: The effects of stretching sets on systolic and diastolic blood pressure were cumulative until the fourth set in protocols performed with and without the Valsalva maneuver. The heart rate and rate pressure product increased in both protocols, but no additive effect was observed due to the number of sets. Hemodynamic responses were always higher when stretching was performed with the Valsalva maneuver, causing an additional elevation in the rate pressure product. CONCLUSIONS: Multiple sets of unilateral hip flexion stretching significantly increased blood pressure, heart rate, and rate pressure product values. A cumulative effect of the number of sets occurred only for systolic and diastolic blood pressure, at least in the initial sets of the stretching protocols. The performance of the Valsalva maneuver intensified all hemodynamic responses, which resulted in significant increases in cardiac work during stretching exercises.

Effect of the number of sets on acute cardiovascular responses during stretching exercise / Efeito do número de séries nas respostas cardiovasculares agudas durante exercício de alongamento

Abstract Few studies have investigated the effects of manipulating variables of stretching exercise prescription on acute cardiovascular responses. The objective of this study was to compare the acute responses of heart rate, blood pressure and double product before, during and after four sets of passive static stretching during unilateral hip flexion. The sample consisted of 16 adult men aged 18 to 27 years (22±2.8 years) with no experience in flexibility training. The cardiovascular variables were measured by photoplethysmography with continuous recording for 5 minutes at rest, during exercise and 10 minutes after stretching. A difference was observed in all variables (p<0.05) when resting and post-exercise values were compared to exercise values. There was only an increase in blood pressure values between sets. Systolic blood pressure was increased in the third set compared to the first [set 1 = 136 mmHg (±9.4); set 3 = 145 mmHg (±9.7)] and diastolic blood pressure was increased in the second set compared to the first [set 1 = 79 mmHg (±6.7); set 2 = 84 mmHg (±9.1)]. Hypotension was not observed post-exercise. It was concluded that the stretching sets have a cumulative effect on systolic and diastolic blood pressure responses, but not on heart rate. However, the stretching protocol produced no hypotensive effect after exercise.

Resumo Poucos estudos investigaram os efeitos da manipulação das variáveis de prescrição do exercício de alongamento nas respostas cardiovasculares agudas. O objetivo do estudo foi comparar as respostas agudas de frequência cardíaca, pressão arterial e duplo produto, antes, durante e após quatro séries de alongamento estático passivo no movimento de flexão unilateral do quadril. A amostra foi composta por 16 homens com idades entre 18 e 27 anos (22±2,8 anos), sem experiência no treinamento de flexibilidade. Mediu-se as variáveis estudadas por meio de fotopletismografia com registro contínuo cinco minutos em repouso, durante os exercícios e dez minutos após os alongamentos. Todas as variáveis investigadas diferenciaram-se (p<0,05) na situação de repouso e pós-esforço em comparação ao exercício. Somente houve aumento dos valores de pressão arterial entre as séries, sendo a sistólica aumentada da terceira em relação à primeira [série 1= 136 mmHg (±9,4); série 3= 145 mmHg (±9,7)] e a diastólica aumentada da segunda para a primeira [série 1= 79 mmHg (±6,7); série 2= 84 mmHg (±9,1)]. Na situação pós-esforço, não foi verificada hipotensão. Pode-se concluir que as séries de alongamento exibiram efeito cumulativo sobre as respostas de pressão sistólica e diastólica, mas não de frequência cardíaca. No entanto, o protocolo de alongamento não produziu efeito hipotensivo pós-exercício.

Hemodynamic responses during and after multiple sets of stretching exercises performed with and without the Valsalva maneuver

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the acute hemodynamic responses to multiple sets of passive stretching exercises performed with and without the Valsalva maneuver. METHODS: Fifteen healthy men aged 21 to 29 years with poor flexibility performed stretching protocols comprising 10 sets of maximal passive unilateral hip flexion, sustained for 30 seconds with equal intervals between sets. Protocols without and with the Valsalva maneuver were applied in a random counterbalanced order, separated by 48-hour intervals. Hemodynamic responses were measured by photoplethysmography pre-exercise, during the stretching sets, and post-exercise. RESULTS: The effects of stretching sets on systolic and diastolic blood pressure were cumulative until the fourth set in protocols performed with and without the Valsalva maneuver. The heart rate and rate pressure product increased in both protocols, but no additive effect was observed due to the number of sets. Hemodynamic responses were always higher when stretching was performed with the Valsalva maneuver, causing an additional elevation in the rate pressure product. CONCLUSIONS: Multiple sets of unilateral hip flexion stretching significantly increased blood pressure, heart rate, and rate pressure product values. A cumulative effect of the number of sets occurred only for systolic and diastolic blood pressure, at least in the initial sets of the stretching protocols. The performance of the Valsalva maneuver intensified all hemodynamic responses, which resulted in significant increases in cardiac work during stretching exercises. .

How long does it take to achieve steady state for an accurate assessment of resting VO2 in healthy men?

The time necessary to obtain a steady state for an accurate and reliable assessment of resting [Formula: see text] remains unclear and was the purpose of this study. Thirty healthy men, aged 17-28 years, visited the laboratory twice for the assessment of resting [Formula: see text], which was assessed as follows: (a) 24 h abstention from physical exercise, alcohol, soft drinks and caffeine, (b) fasting for at least 8 h, (c) an acclimation period of 10 min, and (d) 60 min assessment in a supine position. Resting [Formula: see text] significantly changed during the 60 min (F = 37.4, P < 0.001), exhibiting a monoexponential decrease before reaching an asymptote. Post hoc pairwise comparisons showed that significant differences existed between consecutive means until the 30 min time point, after which there were no significant differences. The [Formula: see text] response across trials exhibited high test-retest reliability, with within-subject coefficients of variations at each time point ranging from 2.8 to 7.0 % and intraclass correlation coefficients ranging from 0.90 to 0.99. The reliability was higher from the 25 min time point onwards. Based on these findings, the following recommendations are made to promote accurate assessment of resting [Formula: see text]: (a) initiate the resting [Formula: see text] measurement with 10 min of acclimation to the assessment apparatus, (b) determine resting [Formula: see text] for a minimum of 30 min, until an apparent [Formula: see text] steady state has been achieved; and (c) determine resting [Formula: see text] for a further 5 min, with the average of this last 5 min of data being regarding as the resting [Formula: see text].