Blood pressure responses to steady treadmill exercise in overweight and obese young adults

Overweight and obesity are major risk factors for chronic diseases. There exists an autonomic imbalance in these persons. The blood pressure response to exercise is an useful method to evaluate cardiac status. Hence this project was undertaken to study the blood pressure responses to steady treadmill exercise in overweight and obese persons. The study was carried out on 85 young healthy adults (Normal weight = 30, Overweight = 25 and Obese = 30) in the age group of 18-22 yrs. Steady dynamic exercise test was done on treadmill for 5 mins. Blood pressure and Pulse rate were recorded before, during 3rd min of exercise, immediately after cessation of exercise and after 5 mins of recovery. Statistical analysis was done using one way ANOVA followed by post-hoc tests for between group comparisons. The resting blood pressure was higher in overweight and obese group when compared to normal group. There was increased systolic pressure response to exercise in study groups where as the diastolic pressure decreased during exercise. Heart rate response was also higher in study groups. Over weight and obese young adults had elevated resting blood pressure and showed increased response to steady exercise which could be due to alterations in the autonomic activity in these persons.