Endurance Training Depletes Antioxidant System but Does Not Affect Endothelial Functions in Women with Abdominal Obesity: A Randomized Trial with a Comparison to Endurance-Strength Training

Limited data suggested that inclusion of a strength component into endurance exercises might intensify the beneficial effect of training. However, the available data is limited. Therefore, we aimed to compare the effect of endurance and endurance-strength training on anthropometric parameters, endothelial function, arterial stiffness, antioxidant status, and inflammatory markers in abdominally obese women without serious comorbidities. A total of 101 women were recruited and randomly divided into endurance (n = 52) and endurance-strength (n = 49) groups. During the three-month intervention, both groups performed supervised sixty-minute training three times a week. All studied parameters were measured pre- and post-intervention period. In total, 85 women completed the study. Both training significantly decreased anthropometric parameters. Besides, endurance training decreased endothelial nitric oxide synthase, central aortic systolic pressure, pulse wave velocity, glutathione (GSH), total antioxidant status (TAS), interleukin (IL) 8, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) 9, and tumor necrosis factor alpha, while endurance-strength training decreased MMP-2 concentrations, and increased IL-6, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, and MMP-9 levels. We observed significant differences between groups for GSH, TAS, and MMP-9 levels. In summary, endurance and endurance-strength training did not differ in the impact on endothelial function and arterial stiffness. However, endurance training significantly depleted the antioxidant defense, simultaneously reducing MMP-9 levels. The study was retrospectively registered with the German Clinical Trials Register within the number DRKS00019832.