Combined exercise training reduces blood pressure, arterial stiffness, and insulin resistance in obese prehypertensive adolescent girls

Childhood obesity is strongly linked to pathological processes for cardiovascular diseases in later adulthood. Obese adolescent girls with high blood pressure (BP) are reported to have increased arterial stiffness, which is associated with the development of hypertension and atherosclerosis. The present study sought to examine the impact of combined resistance and aerobic exercise (CRAE) training on BP, brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV), insulin resistance (IR), and body composition in obese prehypertensive girls. Forty girls (age, 15 ± 1 years; systolic BP, 132 ± 2 mmHg, diastolic BP, 80 ± 5 mmHg) were randomly assigned to either a combined exercise (EX, n = 20) or no exercise group (CON, n = 20). The EX group performed CRAE for 12 weeks, 3 times per week. BP, baPWV, blood nitrite/nitrate, endothelin-1 (ET-1), homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), and body composition were measured before and after the exercise intervention. BP (∆-7.3 ± 2.67 mmHg), baPWV (∆-1.23 ± 0.49 m/s), ET-1 (∆-14.35 ± 1.76 μmol/mL), nitrite/nitrate (∆0.5 ± 0.09 μM), HOMA-IR (∆-1.4 ± 0.07), percent body fat (∆-1.35 ± 0.9%), and waist circumference were significantly improved (P < 0.05) in the EX group after 12 weeks of training versus the CON group. These findings indicate that 12 weeks of CRAE improves BP, HOMA-IR, and arterial stiffness and reduces central adiposity in obese adolescent girls with prehypertension. Thus, this study provides evidence that CRAE can be a useful therapeutic treatment for high BP, IR, and central adiposity, thereby reducing the likelihood of pathological development for cardiovascular diseases in later adulthood.