Abstract
Background
High prevalence of metabolic diseases among young professional athletes with large body sizes has raised growing attention. However, few studies specifically examined whether additional aerobic exercise provides cardiometabolic beneficial effect among these young athletes under regularly intensive strength training.
Objective
We conducted a pilot trial to evaluate the effects of aerobic exercise on overall metabolic syndrome (MetS), individual MetS components, and aerobic capacity among metabolically unhealthy athletes in the heaviest-weight class.
Methods
Forty-nine professional athletes aged 15–30 years had large body weights (mean weight of 131 ± 15.5 kg and 108 ± 15.8 kg and mean BMI of 39.4 ± 4.7 kg/m2 and 36.4 ± 5.1 kg/m2 for 26 men and 23 women, respectively). They completed a supervised moderate intensity (maximal heart rate: 140–170 beats/min for 30–70 min/day) aerobic exercise training for 12 weeks. We collected and measured metabolic parameters and aerobic capacity for all participants before and after 12 weeks of aerobic exercise training.
Results
At baseline, 42 (86 %) of all 49 metabolically abnormal athletes were diagnosed as MetS according to the NCEP ATP III criteria (≥3 MetS components). After aerobic exercise training, 30 % (13/42) of MetS individuals tended to become free of MetS (
Description
The study evaluates the effects of aerobic exercise on metabolic syndrome among heavy-weight class athletes.