ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Heart rate recovery (HRR) after exercise is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease and mortality, and it is well known to be modifiable by weight loss. We investigated whether HRR was mainly improved by better cardiopulmonary function or by alteration of the metabolic profile. METHODS: The weight loss program included 2h of group exercise per week and individual dietary instruction by a qualified dietician every week. Clinical assessment (including HRR) was done before and after the 3-month program. PATIENTS: The subjects were 125 obese persons without a past history of stroke, cardiovascular events, or use of medications who participated in and completed our exercise plus weight loss program. RESULTS: HRR (35.61+/-12.83 to 45.34+/-13.6 beats/min, p<0.0001) was significantly faster after the program. The change in HRR was significantly correlated (p<0.05) with the changes in body weight, body mass index, percent body fat, waist circumference, hip circumference, resting heart rate, peak exercise heart rate, exercise time, maximal work load, physical working capacity divided by body weight (PWC75%HRmax/weight), subcutaneous fat area, visceral fat area, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and leptin. Multivariate analysis showed that the change in HRR was significantly correlated (p<0.05) with the changes in resting heart rate, peak exercise heart rate, and PWC75%HRmax/weight. CONCLUSIONS: Our data demonstrated that HRR can be improved in obese subjects by a 3-month exercise and weight loss program. Improvement in cardiopulmonary function by exercise seems to be the main contributor to the increment of HRR.
Subject(s)
Diet, Reducing , Exercise , Heart Rate/physiology , Obesity/physiopathology , Obesity/therapy , Adult , Aged , Body Mass Index , Body Weight , Exercise Tolerance/physiology , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Waist Circumference , Weight LossABSTRACT
STUDY DESIGN: Subjective ratings of discomfort were compared between a fixed lumbar support and lumbar support continuous passive motion (CPM) device. OBJECTIVE: To compare a fixed lumbar support with a lumbar support CPM device during prolonged sitting. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: To prevent low back pain during prolonged sitting, an inflatable lumbar support CPM has been developed. There are no studies that compare static lumbar support with lumbar CPM using the same pressure in the cushions. METHODS: A total of 31 male volunteers without low back pain sat in the same chair for a 2-hour period on each of 3 consecutive days under 3 randomized test methods: 1, no lumbar support; 2, static lumbar support; and 3, lumbar support CPM. Each subject rated low back pain, stiffness, fatigue, and buttock numbness on a visual analog scale (VAS). Fixed lumbar support and CPM device were compared with a same inflation pressure in the cushion. For 10 subjects, the whole body posture and the pressure distribution changes of the human-seat interface during CPM were evaluated. RESULTS: Compared with no lumbar support, a significant improvement in VAS scores for low back pain, stiffness, and fatigue was obtained with both static lumbar support and with lumbar support CPM (P < 0.005). A significant (P < 0.005) improvement for buttock numbness was obtained only with lumbar support CPM. There were no statistical differences in all VAS scores between the fixed lumbar support and the CPM device. A forward rotation of the pelvic region was obtained during inflation of the cushion during CPM. Significant differences (P < 0.05) were found between cushion inflation and deflation periods both in contact areas and in the peak pressures at the human-seat interface. CONCLUSION: There were no statistical differences in the subjective ratings of discomfort between the fixed lumbar support and the CPM device.
