Associations between being overweight, variability in heart rate, and well-being in the young men

Abstract

Abnormalities of the autonomic nervous system have been repeatedly shown in hypertension. We studied the associations between being overweight, blood pressure, cardiac vagal tone as measured by variability in heart rate, and well-being in a large cohort of young men. We hypothesised an inverse correlation between body mass index and the variability in heart rate. Further, we assessed systolic and diastolic blood pressure as traditional indicators of cardiovascular risk. Exclusion criteria were the use of drugs or pharmaceuticals. The following data from 786 men with a mean age of 19.4 years (standard deviation = 1.4, with a range from 16 to 24 years) were analysed in a cross-sectional study: body mass index, sleep duration, sporting activities, psychological well-being, blood pressure, heart rate, and variability in heart rate. Despite the young age of the men in this study, increased values for the body mass index were already associated with a shift in sympathovagal balance trending towards sympathetic dominance. There was also a significant positive correlation between body mass index and systolic and diastolic blood pressure. A multiple stepwise regression analysis showed that significant factors, which were associated with variability in heart rate, were body mass index and sporting activities. In addition, sporting activity and sleep duration had a significant positive impact on psychological well-being. Even in young men, being overweight is associated with increased cardiovascular risk, especially an increased sympathetic and/or lowered cardiovascular tone and increased blood pressure. Our study gives additional motivation for the early prevention and treatment of obesity in childhood and adolescence.

Evaluation of Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Ratio and Arterial Stiffness Indices Among Young Prehypertensives: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…BMI could play a key role in the pathogenesis of prehypertension. Earlier studies conducted indicated that higher BMI could be an independent contributing factor for vagal withdrawal and sympathetic overactivity among the prehypertensives [17,18]. Furthermore, WC is reported to have a strong association with the development of hypertension [19] and in our study, both WC and HC were significantly increased among the prehypertensives group.…”

Resting Energy Expenditure in Normal-Weight and Overweight/Obese Subjects Was Similar Despite Elevated Sympathovagal Balance

“…There is no consensus about the relationship between obesity and ANS activity level. The opposite hypothesis that most obese subjects are low in sympathetic activity (the MONA LISA hypothesis) [10] was also confirmed by some studies [9,11]. …”

“…Obesity may alter the balance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system [9]. There is no consensus about the relationship between obesity and ANS activity level.…”

Recovery after Three-shift Work: Relation to Sleep-related Cardiac Neuronal Regulation in Nurses

“…This finding supports the notion that distribution of free time is an important factor for maintaining health when working a rapidly rotating, clockwise shift schedule. Numerous factors may affect the sleep-related cardiac autonomic system, such as age 15) , BMI 27) , blood pressure 28) , tea/coffee consumption 29) , and sleep patterns 25) . In the present sample, no differences were present between the control and experimental groups regarding age, BMI, the number of years employed in nursing, blood pressure, and tea/coffee consumption.…”