Effects of 12 weeks of interval versus continuous aerobic exercise on some new risk factors of cardiovascular disease in overweight female students

Abstract

History and objectives: Inactivity is one of the major factors that lead to many health problems particularly cardiovascular diseases. The purpose of this research was to determine the effects of participation in an interval versus continuous aerobic exercise on weight reduction in addition to some selected components of serum blood including CRP and Fibrinogen of female subjects. For this purpose, a total of 45 volunteer subjects were randomly assigned into three groups of interval, continuous and control groups. The subjects in the exercising condition participated in 12 weeks of exercise program while the control groups did not participate in any regular physical activity. One day prior to the start of the exercise protocol, the subjects attended a lab where blood sample was collected. After the termination of the exercise program, similar procedure was used to collect blood sample. The exercise program was performed three times per week. The interval condition included 4 distances of 200 meters interspaced by periods of 1 to 3 minutes of active rest, whereas the continuous group ran the same distance continuously. The exercise intensity was set to 65 to 75 percent of maximum heart rate. The running distance was increased by 200 meter per week. SPSS: PC version 14 was employed to analyze the data by using one-way analysis of variance test. The results of analysis showed that despite the changes in the levels of both CRP and fibrinogen, the differences were not significant. However, there was a significant decrease in body weight of the exercising group compared to the control group. It was concluded that 12 weeks of exercise program regardless of interval or continuous activity is not sufficient to decrease the level of CRP and fibrinogen in young female subjects