Heart Rate Responses at Rest, during Exercise and after Exercise Periods in Relation to Adiposity Levels among Young Nigerian Adults

Abstract

Background: There is a dearth of comparative studies on heart rate (HR) abnormalities at rest, chronotropic responses during submaximal exercise, and such responses during recovery from submaximal exercise between healthy-weight and overweight/obese young adults.Methods: Eighty healthy young adults (30 men and 50 women) aged 19 to 33 years participated in the present study. A symptom-limited, submaximal, cycle ergometer exercise test of intensity targeted at 60% to 70% of the subject's age-predicted maximum HR was performed. The HR, blood pressure, and minute ventilation were measured at rest and during exercise. Post-exercise, HR was first measured at 1 minute of recovery and then every 2 minutes until the 5th minute.Results: Our results showed significantly higher resting HR (P<0.001), lower percentage HR reserve during exercise (P<0.001), and slower HR recovery after exercise (P<0.05, P<0.01, or P<0.001) in overweight/obese men and women than in the non-overweight/obese controls. The prevalence of high resting HR, submaximal chronotropic incompetence, and blunted HR recovery were more common in the overweight/obese individuals than in the healthy-weight controls. Peak VO2 and ventilatory equivalent for oxygen were associated with resting HR, exercise HR parameters, and post-exercise HR recovery indices in both men and women. Conclusion:High resting HR, submaximal chronotropic incompetence, and blunted HR recovery in overweight/obese individuals in this study may be attributed to poor cardiorespiratory fitness and low respiratory efficiency.

Letter: Heart Rate Responses at Rest, during Exercise and after Exercise Periods in Relation to Adiposity Levels among Young Nigerian Adults (J Obes Metab Syndr 2023;32:87-97)

“…Impressively, precisely 10 years later, the subsequent research conducted by this team further advanced our understanding, providing beneficial information to clinicians caring for obese patients through a remarkably creative and sophisticated study design. 2 However, several observations can be made about the study that clarify its context within the field. Firstly, the author's choice to title the study 'Relationship with adiposity levels' rather than 'Relationship with overweight/obesity' seems to present a point of contention.…”