Twelve weeks of exercise modality in hypoxia enhances health-related function in obese older Korean men: A randomized controlled trial

Aim The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of exercise intervention in hypoxia as a novel treatment method for obesity in older men. Methods A total of 24 obese 65-70-year-old Korean men (66.5 +/- 0.8 years) were randomly assigned to undergo hypoxic training (n = 12) or normoxic training (n = 12), and all participants carried out an exercise intervention composed of aerobic exercise on a treadmill (30 min) and bicycle (30 min), and resistance exercise (30-40 min) in normoxia, and 3000-m normobaric hypoxia separately for a total of 12 weeks, three times a week. Health-related dependent variables (body composition, physical fitness, pulmonary function and heart rate variability) were evaluated at pre- and post-exercise intervention. Results Hypoxic training showed more improved body composition (bodyweight -5.68 vs -3.16 kg, %body fat -5.50 vs -1.97%, fat-free mass 2.09 vs 1.06 kg), physical fitness (chair sit-to-stand 5.67 vs 4.58, pegboard 3.58 vs 2.17, tandem test -1.74 vs -1.31 s, one leg standing 6.27 vs 3.71 s), pulmonary function (forced vital capacity 0.15 vs 0.02 L, forced expiratory volume in 1 s 0.23 vs 0.01 L, percent of forced expiratory volume in 1 s 0.87 vs 0.08, maximal voluntary ventilation 5.26 vs 2.22 L) and heart rate variability (high frequency 0.94 vs 0.19 ms(2), low frequency/high frequency -0.28 vs -0.08, salivary cortisol -0.13 vs -0.04 mu g/dL) than normoxic training. Conclusions Compared with normoxic training, hypoxic training is a novel and successful health promotion method in obese older populations. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2019; 19: 311-316.