Usefulness of combining intermittent hypoxia and physical exercise in the treatment of obesity
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MINI REVIEW
Usefulness of combining intermittent hypoxia and physical exercise in the treatment of obesity Aritz Urdampilleta & Pedro González-Muniesa & María P. Portillo & J. Alfredo Martínez
Received: 26 May 2011 / Accepted: 1 September 2011 / Published online: 3 November 2011 # University of Navarra 2011
Abstract Obesity is an important public health problem worldwide and is a major risk factor for a number of chronic diseases such as type II diabetes, adverse cardiovascular events and metabolic syndrome-related features. Different treatments have been applied to tackle body fat accumulation and its associated clinical manifestations. Often, relevant weight loss is achieved during the first 6 months under different dietary treatments. From this point, a plateau is reached, and a gradual recovery of the lost weight may occur. Therefore, new research approaches are being investigated to assure weight maintenance. Pioneering investigations have reported that oxygen variations in organic systems may produce changes in body composition. Possible applications of intermittent hypoxia to promote health
A. Urdampilleta : M. P. Portillo Department of Pharmacy and Food Sciences, University of Basque Country, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
and in various pathophysiological states have been reported. The hypoxic stimulus in addition to diet and exercise can be an interesting approach to lose weight, by inducing higher basal noradrenalin levels and other metabolic changes whose mechanisms are still unclear. Indeed, hypoxic situations increase the diameter of arterioles, produce peripheral vasodilatation and decrease arterial blood pressure. Furthermore, hypoxic training increases the activity of glycolytic enzymes, enhancing the number of mitochondria and glucose transporter GLUT-4 levels as well as improving insulin sensitivity. Moreover, hypoxia increases blood serotonin and decreases leptin levels while appetite is suppressed. These observations allow consideration of the hypothesis that intermittent hypoxia induces fat loss and may ameliorate cardiovascular health, which might be of interest for the treatment of obesity. This new strategy may be useful and practical for clinical applications in obese patients. Keywords Obesity . Body weight loss . Intermittent hypoxia . Treatment . Physical exercise
A. Urdampilleta Department of Neurosciences, University of Basque Country, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
Obesity: prevalence, causes and complications
P. González-Muniesa : J. A. Martínez (*) Department of Nutrition, Food Sciences, Physiology and Toxicology, University of Navarra, 31008 Pamplona, Spain e-mail: [email protected]
Obesity is an important public health problem in most countries [63], which is characterized by an excess of body fat, when amounting values higher than 20% in men and 30% in adult women [20, 66].
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The main etiological factors causing excess body weight for height are assigned to overeating and low physical activity, which lead to a positive energy balance, and result in a body fat increase [91]. Furthermor
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