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. 2023 Oct 11;12(10):1847.
doi: 10.3390/antiox12101847.

Differential Effects of Very-Low-Volume Exercise Modalities on Telomere Length, Inflammation, and Cardiometabolic Health in Obese Metabolic Syndrome Patients: A Subanalysis from Two Randomized Controlled Trials

Dejan Reljic  1   2   3 , Adriana Koller  4 , Hans J Herrmann  1   2   3 , Arif B Ekici  5 , Markus F Neurath  1   3 , Yurdagül Zopf  1   2   3
Affiliations

Differential Effects of Very-Low-Volume Exercise Modalities on Telomere Length, Inflammation, and Cardiometabolic Health in Obese Metabolic Syndrome Patients: A Subanalysis from Two Randomized Controlled Trials

Dejan Reljic et al. Antioxidants (Basel). .

Abstract

Oxidative stress (OS) and inflammation are features of metabolic syndrome (MetS) that can contribute to the shortening of telomere length (TL), a marker of cellular ageing. Research indicates that exercise can positively influence MetS-associated conditions and TL. However, the effects of low-volume exercise types on TL are still unknown. We investigated the impact of very-low-volume high-intensity interval training (LV-HIIT), one-set resistance training (1-RT), and whole-body electromyostimulation (WB-EMS) on TL, inflammation, and cardiometabolic indices in 167 MetS patients. Data were derived from two randomized controlled trials where patients were allocated to an exercise group (2 sessions/week, for 12 weeks) or a control group. All groups received standard-care nutritional weight loss counselling. TL was determined as the T/S ratio (telomere to single-copy gene amount). All groups significantly reduced body weight (p < 0.05), but the T/S-ratio (p < 0.001) only increased with LV-HIIT. OS-related inflammatory markers (C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, and lipopolysaccharide-binding protein) only decreased (p < 0.05) following LV-HIIT. The MetS severity z-score improved with LV-HIIT (p < 0.001) and 1-RT (p = 0.014) but not with WB-EMS. In conclusion, very-low-volume exercise modalities have differential effects on telomeres, inflammation, and cardiometabolic health. Only LV-HIIT but not strength-based low-volume exercise increased TL in MetS patients, presumably due to superior effects on OS-related inflammatory markers.

Keywords: anti-aging; cellular age; electromyostimulation; high-intensity interval training; inflammatory markers; metabolic diseases; oxidative stress; resistance training; telomeres.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Changes in T/S ratio following the 12-week intervention. *** (p < 0.001) denotes significant change between pre- and post-intervention.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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