Effects of one-year once-weekly high-intensity interval training on body adiposity and liver fat in adults with central obesity: Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Objective: This study aims to examine the effects of one-year, once-weekly high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on body adiposity and liver fat in adults with central obesity. Methods: One-hundred and twenty adults aged 18-60 years with central obesity (body mass index ≥25, waist circumference ≥90 cm for men and ≥80 cm for women). This is an assessor-blinded randomized controlled trial. Participants will be randomly assigned to the HIIT group or the usual care control group. Each HIIT session will consist of 4 × 4-min bouts at 85%-95% maximal heart rate, interspersed with 3-min bouts at 50%-70% maximal heart rate. The HIIT group will complete one session per week for 12 months, whereas the usual care control group will receive health education. The primary outcomes of this study are total body adiposity and intrahepatic triglyceride content. The secondary outcomes include abdominal visceral adipose tissue, subcutaneous adipose tissue, body mass index, waist circumference, hip circumference, cardiorespiratory fitness, lean body mass, bone mineral density, blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, insulin, triglycerides, glycated hemoglobin, cholesterol profile, liver function enzymes, medications, adherence to exercise, adverse events, quality of life, and mental health. Outcome measure will be conducted at baseline, 12 months (post-intervention), and 24 months (one-year follow-up). Impact of the project: This study will explore the benefits of long-term once-weekly HIIT with a follow-up period to assess its effectiveness, adherence, and sustainability. We expect this intervention will enhance the practical suitability of HIIT in inactive adults with central obesity, and provide insights on low-frequency HIIT as a novel exercise option for the management of patients with central obesity and liver fat. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03912272) registered on 11 April 2019.

Low-Frequency HIIT Improves Body Composition and Aerobic Capacity in Overweight Men.

BACKGROUND: The relationship between the frequency of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and the resultant adaptations is largely unclear. PURPOSE: This study compared the effects of different frequencies of HIIT with those of moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) on body composition in overweight or obese adults. METHODS: Fifty-six overweight or obese (body mass index = 26.4 ± 2.9) men between 18 and 30 yr old (age = 22.8 ± 3.1 yr) were randomly assigned to the following groups: no-intervention control (CON; n = 14), MICT performed thrice weekly (MICT×3/wk; n = 9), HIIT performed thrice weekly (HIIT×3/wk; n = 14), HIIT performed twice weekly (HIIT×2/wk; n = 10), and HIIT performed once weekly (HIIT×1/wk; n = 9). Each HIIT session consisted of 12 × 1-min bouts at 90% heart rate reserve, interspersed with 11 × 1-min bouts at 70% heart rate reserve. Aerobic capacity, body composition, resting heart rate, vascular function, insulin resistance, and biomarkers of metabolic syndrome risk factor were examined at baseline, after 4 wk, and after 8 wk of intervention. RESULTS: Aerobic capacity and percent fat-free mass significantly increased in all exercise groups compared with those in the CON group (CON vs all exercise groups, P < 0.05), whereas body fat mass and systolic blood pressure significantly decreased after 8 wk of intervention in all exercise groups compared with those in the CON group (CON vs all exercise groups, P < 0.05). Body fat mass significantly decreased after 4 wk in all HIIT groups compared with those in the CON group (CON vs all HIIT groups, P < 0.05) but not in the MICT×3/wk group. CONCLUSION: These novel results demonstrated that performing HIIT once weekly, even with a lower weekly volume of exercise, improved cardiorespiratory fitness, body composition, and blood pressure in overweight/obese adults. Low-frequency HIIT might be a feasible and effective strategy for the prescription of an initial exercise program for inactive, overweight, or obese young men.

Bioimpedance: can its addition to simple clinical criteria enhance the diagnosis of osteoporosis?

There is a great need for a simple means to identify individuals at risk of osteoporosis. Because bioimpedance (BI) estimates body composition, which is highly related to bone mineral density (BMD), we aimed to define the usefulness of BI to assess BMD. The relationships between BI and BMD were quantified using partial correlations. Multiple linear regression with a forward selection method was used to examine the predictive abilities of various body measurements on BMD at lumbar spine, femoral neck, and total hip. The abilities of BI to discriminate low BMD or to discriminate osteoporosis were evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. The relationships between BI and BMD at the spine and hip were evaluated in 345 Southern Chinese postmenopausal women and 390 men. After adjusting for age and weight, BI was inversely associated with BMD in both sexes (r = -0.053 to -0.195). Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that BI is a significant independent predictor of BMD in men. This finding was not confirmed in women. The area under the ROC curves (AUC) for BI as a single predictor to diagnose osteoporosis was 0.658 and 0.655 in women and men, respectively. The AUC was improved slightly with the addition of BI in the model that consisted of age and weight alone. Although BI was significantly associated with BMD, addition of BI did not enhance the ability to diagnose osteoporosis significantly compared with simple clinical criteria such as age and weight.

The nephroprotective effects of the herbal medicine preparation, WH30+, on the chemical-induced acute and chronic renal failure in rats.

In this study, we evaluated the renal protective effects of a Chinese herbal preparation WH30+ in male Wistar rats with glycerol-induced acute renal failure and adenine-induced chronic renal failure. WH30+ is a Chinese herb preparation composed of Rheum Palmatum, Salvia Miltiorrhiza, Cordyceps Sinensis, Leonurus Sibiricus, Epihedium Macranthum, Radix Astragali, and Radix Codonopsis Pilosulae, which has been used to treat kidney deficiency in human. An acute renal failure and chronic renal failure rat model were introduced by glycerol injection (i.m.) and fed with adenine-excessive diet, respectively. WH30+ was administered to rats at the dose of 50 mg/kg/day from 10 days before the diseases were induced until the rats were sacrificed. A reduction in body weight (p < 0.01) was observed in rats with chronic renal failure, but there was no difference between treatment groups. However, the body weight of rats with acute renal failure without treatment was significantly lower than those treated with WH30+ (p < 0.05). Overall, serum creatinine and urea nitrogen were elevated significantly (p < 0.01) in renal failure rats compared to control. Treatment with WH30+ improved both serum creatinine and urea nitrogen slightly in both models. The WH30+-treated rats with acute renal failure had significantly (p < 0.05) greater creatinine clearance than those without treatment. The results of the study show that WH30+ is more effective in the prevention of acute renal failure than chronic renal failure.